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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 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
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#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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CUHK Removes Goddess of Democracy Statue Without Warning
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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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RELATED ARTICLES

Chinese Students Shocked Watching
HKU's Removal of Pillar of Shame, Believes in Power of Witnesses
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31704

CUHK Removes Goddess of Democracy Statue Without Warning
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
#Resistance
Chinese Students Protest Against Removal of #TiananmenMassacre Monument at #HKU

On January 17, 2022 at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), students from China launched a flashmob protest against the university management's removal of the #PillarofShame, a monument commemorating the victims of the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing.

The students laid flowers, handbills that read “Pillar Gone, Shame Still”, documents about the history of the pillar and red stain from dragon fruits at the original site.

Around ten security guards surrounded the area on high alert, checking journalists’ passes on the site. The guards removed the students‘ display within 2 to 3 minutes, calling the display as “pieces of trash”.

Source: InMediaHK #Jan17
https://bit.ly/3FHSRM

#NeverForget #Memory #Remembrance #University
#June4th
New School for Democracy Announces Rebuilding #PillarofShame in #Taiwan: "One Pillar Falls, Thousands More Will Be Raised"

In December 2021, #TiananmenMassacre memorials in three universities across Hong Kong were taken down within 48 hours. They included the Pillar Of Shame in the University of Hong Kong (#HKU).

On December 24, 2021, Taiwan's New School for Democracy announced their plan to rebuild the pillar at the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. They will also invite the pillar's creator #JensGalschiøt to unveil it on the June 4 night vigil in 2022.

"HKU tore down one pillar, but thousands more are being raised across the world," said the School. A 3D scan of the original pillar at HKU has been made available online for download.

The New School for Democracy also held a press conference titled "Don't Trample Human Rights and Affections with 'National Security'", in which they voiced their solidarity with Chinese human rights activists Zhang Zhan, Guo Feixiong, and Tang Jitian. The group called on Beijing to release the the three detained activists and let them be reunited with their families.

President of the New School for Democracy Association Zeng Jianyuan decried HKU's actions as destroying the university's spirit of autonomy.

Destroying "the Pillar of Shame for June 4", as he called it, is equivalent to erecting an invisible pillar of shame for academic freedom. Zeng announced that the Pillar will be rebuilt in Taiwan, and it will carry the memories of the Tiananmen Massacre as well as Hong Kong's Anti-ELAB movement.

Source: RFA; Citizen News #Dec25
http://bit.ly/3ql3TSt

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Related News:
Activists Preserve HK's Tiananmen Memorial Pillar in Digital 3D Model: "They Can't Silence Us All" [Oct 30, 2021]
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31330

The Pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes : Jen Galschiot calls for public record on Twitter [Dec 22, 2021]
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31702

#Monument #Memory
#June4th #Tienanmen
June 4 Slogan Outside HKU Swire Hall Barricaded; University Cites Maintenance Reasons

Source: WhatsNews Media, Undergrad; #Jan29

Read more
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/32035
#June4th #Tienanmen
June 4 Slogan Outside HKU Swire Hall Barricaded; University Cites Maintenance Reasons

Since the end of 2021, numerous June Fourth artefacts have been removed from the grounds of various universities, including the Pillar of Shame in the University of Hong Kong (#HKU), the Goddess of Democracy in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK), and the June Fourth Commemorative Relief and “Goddess of Democracy” spray art in Lingnan University (#LingU).

Since around 0930 on #Jan29, the June Fourth slogan outside of HKU’s Swire Hall has been barricaded by the university, with personnel at the site stating that they were there on behalf of “beautification works”.

Undergrad, one of HKU’s campus media, have enquired HKU’s Communications and Public Affairs Office, who stated that the site was barricaded due to a “scheduled maintenance” of the site.

Jason Wong Ching Hin, elected full-time undergraduate student of the University Council, arrived at the site in the afternoon, and stated to the press that he did not know about the incident prior, questioning the University's self-censorship and expressed confusion why the University would “attract attention with this unnecessary move”.

In 1989, then chairperson of Swire Hall Students' Association Cheung Yui Fai and his fellow schoolmates, angered at the Chinese Government's massacre at Tiananmen Square, wrote a banner on a piece of black cloth that reads:-

Cold-blooded Massacre, Martyrs’ Souls Enduring; Eliminate Evil, Undying Democracy Flames.
冷血屠城 烈士英魂不朽 誓殲豺狼 民主星火不滅

The paint seeped through the black banner and remained on the bridge. After this, HKU students and Swire Hall residents would repaint the slogan every year as a way to keep the June Fourth Spirit going.

Source: WhatsNews Media (https://www.whatsnewsmedia.com/6831/15/03/02/), Undergrad (https://www.instagram.com/p/CZTuKgxBOAX/); #Jan29
#AcademicFreedom #Suppression
Hong Kong denies visa for US human rights law scholar with no apparent reasons

On 2 February, an American legal scholar specialising in LGBTQ rights said he was denied a visa to teach at a Hong Kong university, as concerns deepen about academic freedom in the city.

Legal scholar Ryan Thoreson said he was hired by the University of Hong Kong (#HKU), the city’s oldest, to teach human rights law as a tenure-track assistant professor, but his visa application was rejected.

“(The government) hadn’t given an explanation for it, but it just showed up on the immigration website saying the application had been refused,” Thoreson said.

#RyanThoreson #HumanRights #LGBTQ #Visa

Source: Ming Pao, HKFP; #Feb2
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e6%b8%af%e8%81%9e/article/20220202/s00001/1643779715101
#Suppression #WhiteTerror
The 7th University in Hong Kong ceases recognition of its Students’ Union

In an internal email sent to students and faculty members on January 20, 2022, the Education University of Hong Kong (#EdUHK) criticized governance of the student union, saying that the Union has been operating under a ‘provisional’ body for the past four consecutive years, without proper mandate and therefore lack of student representation.

The university said it will stop offering support to the union, including the collection of membership fees, providing network accounts and services, and offering IT support. Additionally, the student union will lose access to its office space and the right to book and use campus facilities and venues.

The union’s HK$9 million reserve will also be “kept under the custody” of the university’s Finance Office.

In just one year, seven of eight universities in Hong Kong has cut ties with their students’ union, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong (#CUHK), the University of Hong Kong (#HKU), the City University of Hong Kong (#CityU), the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (#PolyU), the Baptist University of Hong Kong (#BUHK) and the Lingnan University of Hong Kong (#LingnanU).

#StudentsUnion #Authoritarianism #Censorship #Education

Source: inmediahk; #Jan20
https://bit.ly/3FJOnoP

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Editorial Committee of Hong Kong Baptist University's Students' Union resigns en masse due to #Censorship
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Executive Committee of UCSU CUHK Dissolves
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#CarrrieLam Insists Actions Against HKU Students; University Management Deregisters Students' Union
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30489
.
#AcademicFreedom
U.S. LGBTQ scholar denied visa to Hong Kong, possibly due to ties with Human Rights Watch

U.S. law scholar Ryan Thoreson, who studies the social and legal issues of #LGBTQ, was denied having a teaching visa from the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) as a tenured Assistant Professor. The scholar did not receive any reason for the denial.

Read related article
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/32082

As there was no official explanation, Ryan Thoreson could not say whether it was because of his ties with Hong Kong Watch. "I don't think my studies have special criticisms on China as my main focus is on LGBTQ rights."

RFI said that the incident increased concerns about academic freedom in Hong Kong.

#RyanThoreson #HongKongWatch #AcademicFreedom

Source: RFI #Feb02

https://bit.ly/3GJVdej
Sculptor of dismantled Tiananmen statue says damage symbolic of Hong Kong struggle

The sculptor of a statue commemorating the victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown said on Friday that its removal from a Hong Kong university was "brutal" but any damage would be symbolic of recent changes in the city under Chinese rule.

The eight-metre (26-foot) sculpture of anguished human torsos was one of the few remaining public memorials in the former British colony to remember the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters - a taboo topic in mainland China, where it cannot be publicly commemorated.

Source: Reuters #Dec25

https://reut.rs/32ApwFS

#HKU #Tiananmen #Democracy #Protester #Taboo #China
Two more Tiananmen monuments removed from Hong Kong universities

Two more Hong Kong universities removed on Friday public monuments to the 1989 Tiananmen protests in Beijing, following the dismantling of a sculpture commemorating victims of the crackdown at another university this week.

The removals at Chinese University and Lingnan University in the global financial hub came as authorities have been clamping down under a national security law imposed by China.

Human rights activists say the law is being used to suppress civil society, jail democracy campaigners and curb basic freedoms, but authorities say the security laws have restored stability after mass protests in 2019.

Source: Reuters #Dec25

https://reut.rs/3qkOcuo

#HKU #Tiananmen #Democracy #Protester #Taboo #China
#Crackdown #Censorship
Slogan dedicated to victims of Tiananmen crackdown has been painted over and lined with a row of potted plants in a Hong Kong University

#CUHK #LingnanU #HKU #PillarOfShame #Education #FreedomOfSpeech

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar31
Photo credit: HKFP

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#Crackdown #Censorship
Slogan dedicated to victims of Tiananmen crackdown has been painted over and lined with a row of potted plants in a Hong Kong University

Residents at Swire Hall of the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) painted a slogan on the bridge after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.

Every year since then, HKU students have retouched the slogan, which read: “Souls of martyrs shall forever linger despite the brutal massacre; Spark of democracy shall forever glow for the demise of evils.”

33 years later, the university cordoned off the bridge claiming for “regular maintenance works”. Later on the slogan was found covered with cement and on top of it, a row of flower pots was added.

The removal of the slogan was part of a wider clampdown on commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown at universities across Hong Kong.

In December, HKU dismantled the Pillar of Shame statue – an eight-metre sculpture that depicts bloodied bodies bundled together – in the middle of the night.

The next day, also in the early hours, a Goddess of Democracy statue and a relief sculpture were taken down at Chinese University (#CUHK) and Lingnan University (#LingnanU).

#CUHK #LingnanU #HKU #PillarOfShame #Education #FreedomOfSpeech

Source: Inmediahk; #Mar31
https://bit.ly/3J16po2

Photo credit: HKFP
#WhiteTerror #Oppression
Over a dozen companies refuse to transport #PillarofShame, citing concerns over Chinese government's reprisal

The Pillar of Shame - the Tiananmen memorial at the University of Hong Kong (#HKU) which stood for more than 20 years - has been dismantled and packed away in cargo containers by the University management in the middle of the night in December 2021.

Since then, the creator of the Pillar, Danish artist #JensGalschiøt, had been attempting to ship the Pillar back to Denmark.

In a statement, Galschiøt said that his team, including lawyers, 2 shipping companies, and even the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs were involved in the effort, but they had yet to find a company to move the cargo container from storage to the container wharf.

12 shipping companies turned them down, all citing concerns over the Chinese government taking vengeance on them.

Galschiøt reiterated that he is still hopeful for success, but it remains unclear as to when the Pillar can be shipped out of Hong Kong.

Source: Inmediahk; #Apr19
https://bit.ly/3918PH7

See also:
The Pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes : Jen Galschiot calls for public record on Twitter (Dec 23, 2021)
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/31702

New School for Democracy Announces Rebuilding Pillar of Shame in Taiwan: "One Pillar Falls, Thousands More Will Be Raised" (Jan 27, 2022)
https://t.me/BeWaterHK/15

#June4 #TiananmenMassacre #Memorial