Two more universities in Hong Kong removed monuments commemorating the 1989 massacre in Beijing, China’s capital, Tiananmen Square.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) removed the ‘Goddess of Democracy’ statue, while Lingnan University removed a wall relief.
The day before, the University of Hong Kong was also famous for erecting it on the university campus to commemorate the massacre. Removed the ‘Pillar of Shame’ statue.
The monument, which depicts the piled-up corpses of murdered pro-democracy protesters, was one of the few artifacts that could be seen regarding the events in Tiananmen, Hong Kong.
The removal of the statues is significant as it takes place at a time when Beijing is increasingly repressing political opposition in Hong Kong.
The Goddess of Democracy statue was modeled after the original statue erected in Tiananmen Square in 1989 by Chinese students.
In 1989, Tiananmen Square in Beijing became the center of demonstrations demanding greater political freedom. Thousands of people camped in the square for weeks, but in June the army broke in and the troops opened fire.
The Chinese government said 200 civilians and several dozen security guards were killed. Other estimates range from hundreds to 10,000.
The CUHK did not directly confirm that the statue was removed, but noted that it was an “unofficial statue”.
“The university has never allowed the statue to be displayed on campus, and no organization has taken responsibility for its maintenance and management,” CUHK said in a statement on Friday.
At Lingnan University, where the relief statue was removed, the school said it had recently “reviewed and evaluated items on campus that could pose legal and security risks” and “removed them . . . for the sake of the university.”
Hong Kong was one of the few places to allow a public commemoration of those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, which remains a highly sensitive issue in mainland China.
But in 2020, Hong Kong authorities banned the commemoration for the first time in 30 years, citing Covid restrictions. Activists accused the authorities of bowing to pressure from Beijing to silence pro-democracy demands.
Tens of thousands of people protested the ban and demolished the barricades around Victoria Park in Hong Kong to join the vigil that night.
In October, nine pro-democracy Hong Kong activists were sentenced to between 6 and 10 months in prison for participating in the vigil.
Earlier this month, media mogul Jimmy Lai was also sentenced to 13 months in prison for participating in the same vigil.
Beijing passed a strict national security law in Hong Kong last year. Activists say the law is used to suppress civil society, jail pro-democracy campaigners and curtail fundamental freedoms.