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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

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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

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Chinese Students Shocked Watching HKU's Removal of Pillar of Shame, Believes in Power of Witnesses

Source: Citizen News #Dec23

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⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31705
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

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

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31298

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The Pillar of Shame located inside HKU grounds were closed off by construction workers and later removed on December 22, 2021.

It was sculpted by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt to commemorate the victims of the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing.

The Pillar has stood in
HKU grounds for 24 years


#PillarOfShame #HKU #JenGalshiot #TiananmenMassacre #GoHKgraphics

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

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31705
#BreakingNews #CUHK
CUHK Removes Goddess of Democracy Statue Without Warning

One day after the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) removed the Pillar of Shame, a memorial of the Tiananmen Square Massacre by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) also took action to remove a memorial sculpture on its campus, the Goddess of Democracy, without prior announcement.

Sources in CUHK claim that the university had been planning for the statue's removal, but had moved up its schedule once they saw HKU took down the Pillar of Shame. It was also said that the school had considered directly demolishing the statue and sending it to the landfill. The statue is currently placed in temporary storage.

Compared to HKU's actions on the day prior, CUHK was even more subtle in their actions. Before starting to dismantle the pillar, HKU had first enclosed the area with barricades; this gave students and journalists precious time to come to the scene and record the event. CUHK, in comparison, acted in complete secrecy; the statue was not guarded in any way as late as the previous evening. Their dismantling work began around 6am this morning, and by 6:30, the statue was removed without a trace.

The Goddess of Democracy statue was a replica of the one erected on Tiananmen Square during the student protests in 1989, days before the violent crackdown by the Chinese army on June 4. The replica was created by Chinese sculptor Chen Weiming (陳維明) , and was shipped to Hong Kong on June 2, 2010 and received by the Hong Kong Alliance, the organizer of the annual June 4 candlelight vigil. The statue was temporarily confiscated by police, a number of Alliance members were arrested, and Chen himself was denied entry to the city; despite the setbacks, the statue was able to go on display at the candlelight vigil two days later. It was then shipped to CUHK, escorted by over 2000 citizens, students, and faculty members, and was erected on the grass near the University MTR station, where it stood until today.

Source: 白影, HKGolden
Photo: 白影, CUHK Student Press

#June4 #GoddessOfDemocracy #TiananmenMassacre #Memorial #Censorship #PoliticalSuppression

Read more:
The pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes : Jen Galschiot calls for public record on Twitter
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31702
#CUHK #GoddessOfDemocracyStatue
On Christmas Eve, there was candlelight on the CUHK campus, sorrowing where the Goddess of Democracy is

#June4 #TiananmenMassacre #HKU #PillarOfShame #Candlelight

Source : The Stand News; #Dec24

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#CUHK #GoddessOfDemocracyStatue
On Christmas Eve, there was candlelight on the CUHK campus, sorrowing where the Goddess of Democracy is

The annual June 4th candlelight vigils in Victoria Park that had been banned for two consecutive years has "reappeared" in the Chinese University in Hong Kong (#CUHK) on Christmas Eve, following authorities deliberate removal of the statue of the Goddess of Democracy overnight.

The statue which had been placed on the university campus for 11 years, was suddenly removed without a word of warning on December 24, a day after the Pillar of Shame was dismantled in the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) on December 23.

Read more about the Dismentaling of Pillar of Shame in #HKU
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31704

After lunch time, some students used dozens of pictures of the Goddess of Democracy statue to recreate the statue of Goddess of Democracy in CUHK.

Graduates and citizens even seen presenting flowers to the "new" statue in a bid to express their grief.

In the evening, they lit small candles that pieced together the appearance of “June 4th”, “democracy”, and “Goddess of Democracy”. It looked as if the long-lost candlelight vigils - held in remembrance of victims of June 4th massacre in Beijing - has actually "reappeared" on the campus of CUHK on Christmas Eve this year.

Brandon, a CUHK student, expressed that the statue of Goddess of Democracy symbolized not only the “June 4th incident”, it was also an indicator of freedom of speech and political climate in the university and the society at large.

He said the students knew that the school will remove the statue of Goddess of Democracy when HKU removed the Pillar of Shame. They believed it fell beyond the control of the university management.

“However we didn't expect that the statue literally disappeared overnight," added Brandon in distress.

Source : Stand News; #Dec24
https://thestandnews.page.link/2BeHeBaAcUuj6UzLA

#CUHK #June4 #GoddessOfDemocracyStatue #TiananmenMassacre #HKU #PillarOfShame #Candlelight

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#WhiteTerror
Hong Kong Lingnan University removes Tiananmen Massacre relief citing legal and safety concerns

On December 24, 2021, Lingnan University (#LU) was the third University in Hong Kong to tear down monuments commemorating the victims of the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre from their campuses on two consecutive days before Christmas.

The removals came one day after the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) dismantled the Pillar of Shame during the night of December 23, 2021

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK) removed the Goddess of Democracy statue from its campus in the early morning of December 24, whilst Lingnan University took off a Tiananmen Massacre relief citing safety and legal issues on the same day.

The student union expresses "deep regret for the university’s unilateral decision to remove the monument, with no communication with the students." They also "strongly condemn the move by the university to obliterate the historical symbol.”

The relief was created by Chinese-born New Zealand sculptor Chen Weiming in May 2009 – portrayed iconic scenes of the student-led democracy movement in Beijing which was forcefully clamped down by the People’s Liberation Army on June 4, 1989. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died.

The art piece had shown the “Tank Man” image where an unnamed individual stood in front of a line of tanks, as well as impressions of citizens rushing injured protesters to the hospital on bicycles.

Some students said theu knew the removal of the relief by Lingnan University was coming; while some were surprised that it took place just a day after HKU removed another monument, the Pillar of Shame, overnight on Thursday.

#MemoryCrackdown #June4 #TiananmemMassacre #PoliticalOppression #CCP #PillarOfShame

Source: Whatsnewsmedia, HKFP; #Dec24
https://t.me/WhatsNewsHK/2695

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31710
#Censorship #WhiteTerror
More attempts to crackdown memories of the June 4th Massacre in Hong Kong Universities

In Hong Kong, three universities have taken haste actions to remove historic monuments and statues - all related to the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre - before Christmas day.

It started with #HKU Dismentaling the #PillarofShame over midnight on December 23, 2021.

On December 24, 2021, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#HKU) and the Lingnan University (#LU) removed the Goddess of Democracy statue and a Tiananmen Massacre relief on their campuses overnight.

In the City University of Hong Kong (#CityU), the acting president of the Students' Union, Mark Tse Man-Hei told local media that the Union has received a verbal warning from school authorities.

The warning letter asked for the Goddess of Democracy statue to be removed the soonest, saying that its display would be deemed a violation of “#NationalSecurityLaw”.

Source: Stand News; #Dec24
https://bit.ly/3pqfU9N

#FreedomOfSpeech

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RELATED NEWS
CUHK Removes Goddess of Democracy Statue Without Warning

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31710