📡Guardians of Hong Kong
9.58K subscribers
21.6K photos
1.88K videos
27 files
9.99K links
We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/BeWaterHongKong
Instagram: @guardiansofhk
Website: https://guardiansofhk.com/
Download Telegram
Hongkonger Protests Against the Removal of the Pillar of Shame with #SquidGames and #GeorgeOrwell

At around noon on October 28, 2021, a person dressed as the game operator in the heated #Netflix series #SquidGames stood in front of the #PillarofShame at the University of Hong Kong (#HKU).

The person held up a sign which read "Ignorance is strength," a line taken from #GeorgeOrwell's book 1984.

The act of the one-person silent protest has alarmed the campus security team, which went to the site and took the person away.

Read more:
#PillarofShame Creator Shocked as the University of Hong Kong Demands Removal
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31299

US Law Firm Withdraws from Representing the University of Hong Kong Amid Outcry from Civic Groups and US Politicians
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31306

Source: Netizen #Oct28 https://www.facebook.com/366243453719070/posts/1572412809768789/

#FailedState #Censorship
#Art #Creativity
Activists Preserve HK's Tiananmen Memorial Pillar in Digital 3D Model: "They Can't Silence Us All"

In October 2021, the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) demanded the Danish creator Jens Galschiøt to remove the statue which has been on display on campus since 1998.

An activist group had digitally scanned the #PillarofShame and made the 3D model publicly available, in an effort to preserve the statue commemorating the pro-democracy protesters killed during the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in Beijing.

Thre group "Lady Liberty HK" announced the release of the publicly accessible file in a Facebook post on October 29, 2021.

"The 3D file preserves details including every face on the statue, #JensGalschiøt's signature, the writings and plates on the base," said the post.

While Galschiøt, the statue's creator, had made similar pillars commemorating other ignominious events in other countries, all pillars are unique.

This 3D model therefore represents "THE Pillar of Shame that belongs to Hong Kong."

The original Pillar had been placed on permanent display inside Hong Kong University's campus since 1998. However, HKU had recently demanded its removal, a move that drew condemnation from civic groups worldwide, as well as Galschiot, the statue's creator and owner. He had called on Hong Kong citizens to, in the event that the statue is demolished, gather as many pieces as they could, so that it could be rebuilt elsewhere in the world.

Echoing the artist's call, the group Lady Liberty HK wrote: "If one day #HKU act in accomplice to Hong Kong Gov. and the CCP and removes the statue, anyone in the world can still view it online and recreate it."

The group takes its name from the 4m-tall statue of a Hong Kong protester, which it created and displayed during the 2019 Anti-ELAB Movement, but had been destroyed by unidentified individuals. The group had also published the model file for the statue; one 3D-printed replica is now preserved in the collections of the Museum of New Zealand.

Source: Lady Liberty HK Facebook #Oct30

https://www.facebook.com/LadyLibertyHongKong/posts/647090700010700

#Resistance #3DModel #PreservingHistory #LadyLibertyHK
Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement of China was disbanded in late September. However, the HKU still asked them to remove the Pillar of Shame in October.

#HKASPDMC #FreedomofAcademy #PillarofShame #HKU #GoHKgraphics
#PillarOfShame #Censorship
Danish Sculptor seeks immunity from Hong Kong's National Security Law


Source: Citizen News; #Nov12

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31440
#PillarOfShame #Censorship
Danish Sculptor seeks immunity from Hong Kong's National Security Law


Danish artist Jens Galschiot created the Pillar of Shame, a statue that commemorates democracy students and citizens who died on June 4, 1989 during Beijing’s brutal crackdown. The University of Hong Kong (#HKU), where the statue was displayed, has earlier demanded its removal from the campus.

The artist has asked Hong Kong authorities for immunity from the #NationalSecurityLaw so that he can take the statue back to Denmark.

In an open letter issued on November 12, 2021, #JensGalschiot said he is willing to take the statue back to Denmark, but he needs to be in the city to make sure it is dismantled properly without causing significant and irreparable damage to the costly sculpture.

Galschiot also called for assurances that he and his colleagues would not be prosecuted under the national security law.

#Sculpture #NSL #Art #FreedomOfExpression #TiananmenMassacre #June4 #Denmark

Source: Citizen News; #Nov12
https://www.hkcnews.com/article/47611/%E9%AB%98%E5%BF%97%E6%B4%BBjens_galschi%C3%B8t-%E5%9C%8B%E6%AE%A4%E4%B9%8B%E6%9F%B1-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%B8-47619/hku
Pillar of Shame placed outside Chinese Embassy in Rome. Nathan Law: China government's atrocities must be exposed to the world

As the G20 summit is to be held in Rome for two days from Saturday (30 October), exiled Hong Kong legislator Nathan Law Kwun-Chung took the "Pillar of Shame" to the Chinese Embassy there yesterday (27 October) to protest. He said he might not be able to stop the Chinese Communist Party (#ccp) from committing atrocities, but he hoped to draw public attention to human rights issues in China.

Joint with Luke de Pulford, a British member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), and others, Nathan Law erected a three-metre-high "Pillar of Shame", a replica of the original "Pillar of Shame" status made by the same Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt, outside the Chinese Embassy in Rome yesterday.

"We may not be able to stop the Chinese Communist Party's atrocities, but with the G20 summit around the corner, there is something we can do to get the media's attention and to direct some of the public opinions towards the human rights of the Chinese Communist Party," he said. He would also meet with parliamentarians from different countries in Rome in the coming days, hoping to remind them of the importance of fighting the expansion of Chinese Communist authority when they gather.

Source: Stand News #Oct28

#PillarOfShame #NathanLaw #G20 #Summit #Rome #LukeDePulford #IPAC #China

https://bit.ly/33ptQZ7

[Translator note: According to the Stand News video, Nathan Law said, "it is a statement about the atrocity and the massacre that the Chinese Communist Party did to its people, its crushing of democratic pursuit, and the pursuits of its people to decide the future of their own country", which is not quite the same as what the news article say]
#GlobalSolidarity #UK
Pro-democracy
#Hongkongers Rally in #Manchester: "You Can't Kill Us All"

On December 11, 2021 Hongkongers in Manchester initiated a rally in support of human rights. The rally was titled “YOU CAN’T KILL US ALL,” symbolizing the solidarity of people in pursuit of freedom and democracy despite political oppression.

The assembly was attended by around 100 participants, including the members of #AmnestyInternational, Tibetan activists, former councillors from Hong Kong and prodemocracy activists in exile.

A two-feet-tall replica of the “#PillarOfShame," commemorating the victims of the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing, was exhibited. The original statue made by a Danish sculptor has been displayed in the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) for years. The university management's recent plan to remove the statue has sparked public outcry in Hong Kong and abroad.

Source: Harbour of Freedom #Dec11

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXXMG17I8SZ/
#BreakingNews
The pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes : Jen Galschiot calls for public record on Twitter


Sources: Stand News; Citizen News; Jen Galschiot's Twitter page; #Dec23

Images: Stand News; Citizen News; Roy Li and Stephanie Wu

#HKU #PillarOfShame

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31702
#BreakingNews
The pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes : Jen Galschiot calls for public record on Twitter


According to the Undergrad, at around 2200 on #Dec22, the Pillar of Shame located inside HKU grounds were closed off by construction workers, authorised by the school authorities.

White cloth and yellow barriers could be seen barricading the view of the Pillar from the pedestrian bridge above and near it on the ground. School personnel watched over the site, with construction noise emanating nearby.

Sources revealed that the school Council have convened a meeting on #Dec22 and has come to the conclusion of disassembling the Pillar of Shame. People at HKU believed that this decision was spurred on by pressure from the National Security Department, which could be seen as direct pressure from the Chinese Central Government.

At around 0000 on #Dec23, a crane and a truck carrying a container could be seen arriving at HKU.

The Pillar of Shame, sculpted by artist Jens Galschiøt to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, has stood in HKU grounds for 24 years. The school authorities had initially remained cooperative with its display on school grounds, but had recently called for removal of the sculpture since October. As the University could not determine who the sculpture belonged to, the fate of the sculpture had remained undecided.

Many have regarded the Pillar of Shame as a symbol of freedom in Hong Kong as the creator, Jen Galschiøt, wrote in 1997, "it [the Pillar of Shame] was put on permanent public display to serve, as a test of the authorities’ “guarantees for human rights and freedom of expression in Hong Kong.”

Sources: Stand News; Citizen News; Jen Galschiot's Twitter page; #Dec23

Images: Stand News; Citizen News; Roy Li and Stephanie Wu

#HKU #PillarOfShame

RELATED ARTICLES
"Barbarious", "Mafia Tactic": #PillarofShame Creator Shocked as the University of Hong Kong Demands Removal
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31298

Danish Sculptor seeks immunity from Hong Kong's National Security Law
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31439

MORE ON THE SAME TOPIC
Activists Preserve HK's Tiananmen Memorial Pillar in Digital 3D Model: "They Can't Silence Us All"
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31329?single
Chinese Students Shocked Watching HKU's Removal of Pillar of Shame, Believes in Power of Witnesses

As the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) removed the Pillar of Shame without announcement durinv the night of December 22, 2021, two university students from China nearby until midnight, hoping to bear witness to history.

Wei and Wang (pseudonyms) are fourth-year Social Sciences students in HKU. They grew up in China and were educated in China's school system, only coming to Hong Kong 4 years ago to study in HKU.

They were planning to attend the university's Christmas party that night, they recounted. They were shocked when they received words that the Pillar of Shame was being destroyed, and so they rushed to the site immediately.

They said that the Pillar has great symbolic meaning to both HKU and Hong Kong itself; its removal, in turn, symbolizes the deterioration of freedom in Hong Kong.

"As long as this Pillar remains here, this university still has academic freedom. Now that it's gone, it seems that academic freedom is also gone."

The two felt the great significance of the Pillar as a memorial to the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing. "The Pillar's existence means at least two things: one, that the incident took place; two, that we can discuss it publicly."

Now that the pillar is gone, it seems that June 4th can no longer be discussed in public. However, the two students believe that people's memory of history cannot be erased.

Growing up in China, the two students knew very little about the June 4th massacre, until they had come to Hong Kong. "Many students from China didn't even know about it before they saw the Pillar," Wei said. "After tonight, they might never get a chance at all."

The two came to study in Hong Kong for its freedom. However, after witnessing the political upheaval over the past 4 years, they felt the city is no longer free as it was in the past. They did not want to place blame for its loss. "It’s not Hong Kong to blame," said Wang. "We come to this place for freedom, and we see how people try to defend it, we don’t think Hong Kong or Hong Kong people are to blame."

The two stayed at the scene of the demolished Pillar until midnight, and they conceded that there is not much they could do as students. "But witnesses have power, to participate, to remember the thing," they said.

Source: Citizen News #Dec23
https://www.hkcnews.com/article/49522/國殤之柱-香港大學-內地留學生-49525/內地生震驚國殤之柱被拆-留守至深夜-「見證是有力量」

#June4 #PillarOfShame #JensGalschiøt #Censorship #AcademicFreedom #University

=====
RELATED ARTICLES

The pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes : Jen Galschiot calls for public record on Twitter
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31702

"Barbarious", "Mafia Tactic":
#PillarofShame Creator Shocked as the University of Hong Kong Demands Removal

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31298

Danish Sculptor seeks immunity from Hong Kong's National Security Law

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31439

MORE ON THE SAME TOPIC

Activists Preserve HK's Tiananmen Memorial Pillar in Digital 3D Model: "They Can't Silence Us All"

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31329