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Worldwide
-DW Information
Hong Kong, Dec 24: Two Hong Kong universities on Friday eliminated public monuments commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests that happened in Beijing.
One of many sculptures eliminated was a six-meter (21 foot) duplicate of the large statue college students had erected in Tiananmen Sq. by Chen Weiming.
The Lingnan College of Hong Kong eliminated one other reduction sculpture marking the Tiananmen crackdown, additionally created by Chen.
A day earlier, Hong Kong’s oldest college eliminated a statue commemorating the crackdown, sparking outcry by activists and dissident artists.
It was not clear whether or not the statues have been eliminated on the request of Chinese language authorities.
What did the artist say?
“They acted like a thief within the evening. It was the alternative of being clear and above board. They have been afraid of publicity and of a backlash from college students and alumni,” Chen advised the AFP information company.
He additionally mentioned the schools acted “illegally and unreasonably.”
Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, whose “Pillar of Disgrace” statue was faraway from a Hong Kong college on Thursday, had advised DW that authorities probably wished to point out their energy to the democracy motion.
However he mentioned his sculpture would retain its power even so due to the publicity surrounding its removing.
“Lots of people all around the world are speaking about what Hong Kong is doing, so that they make it a logo for the way brutal the Chinese language system is now,” Galschiot added.
Crackdown on memorials?
Final week, the 6.4-meter (20-foot) bronze “Goddess of Democracy” statue holding a flame aloft at Hong Kong’s Chinese language College had been faraway from a public piazza.
Hong Kong’s Lingnan College additionally took down a Tiananmen bloodbath wall reduction sculpture that included an outline of the “Goddess of Democracy.”
Hong Kong was the one place underneath Chinese language territory the place commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Sq. protests weren’t barred.
However Beijing’s controversial safety legislation in Hong Kong has resulted in a crackdown on democratic protests.
An annual vigil that was once held to mark the June 4 crackdown on Tiananmen Sq. protesters has not been held for 2 years.
In September, police raided a museum commemorating Tiananmen and seized reveals. Authorities have cited the pandemic and safety issues as causes for his or her crackdown.
Supply: DW
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