Hong Kong: two new sculptures commemorating Tiananmen withdrawn from universities – franceinfo

The erasure of sculptures in homage to the Tiananmen repression continues in Hong Kong. Works from two Hong Kong universities commemorating the pro-democracy movement of June 4, 1989 were debunked on Friday, December 24, the institutions said. It is a statue of the “Goddess of Democracy”, withdrawn from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a relief commemorating the events of Tiananmen removed from Lingnan University. Thursday, le “Pillar of shame” performed by the Dane Jens Galschiot, had been withdrawn from the university of Hong Kong.

The “Goddess of Democracy” of Chen Weiming, a six-meter-high replica of the one erected by students demonstrating in Tiananmen Square in 1989, was also a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. Chinese University of Hong Kong explained that the withdrawal of the “unauthorized statue” intervened after an internal evaluation, adding that the groups responsible for installing the work on campus in 2010 are no longer active.

The artist, based in the United States, expressed his “regrets” and his “anger”, explaining that the university had acted “illegal and unreasonable”. “They act like a thief in the night”, he reacted, while the campuses are deserted during the Christmas holidays.

“It’s the opposite of being clean and honest … They were afraid of being exposed and of receiving backlash from students and alumni.”

Chen Weiming, sculptor

to AFP

The sculptor assured that his work was on loan, and that he would take legal action if it was damaged. He said he was considering seeking his removal to California, where he runs Liberty Sculpture Park. For its part, Lingnan University announced the withdrawal of a relief commemorating the events of Tiananmen, work by the same artist, after having “reviewed and assessed items on campus that may present legal and security risks to the university community”.