Sculptures from two Hong Kong universities commemorating Tiananmen's pro-democracy movement were debunked on Friday, the institutions said, continuing the erasure in the city of tributes to the bloody June 4, 1989 crackdown in Beijing.
In the morning, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) removed the statue of the
Goddess of Democracy
from its campus.
Read alsoHong Kong: a statue in memory of Tiananmen unbolted
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has removed the statue of the
Goddess of Democracy
from its campus. Daniel SUEN, Bertha WANG / AFP
The establishment explained that the removal of the "
unauthorized statue
" came after an internal assessment, adding that the groups responsible for installing the work on campus in 2010 are no longer active. This statue of Chen Weiming, a six-meter-high replica of the one erected by students demonstrating in Tiananmen Square in 1989, was also a symbol of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. The artist, based in the United States, expressed to AFP his “
regrets
” and “
anger
”, explaining that the university had acted in an “
illegal and unreasonable
” manner. "
They act like a thief in the night
», Reacted Mr. Chen, while the campuses are deserted during the Christmas holidays.
"It's the opposite of being clean and honest ... They were afraid of being exposed and of receiving backlash from students and alumni
.
"
The sculptor assured that his work was on loan, and that he would take legal action if it was damaged. He said he was considering seeking his removal to California, where he runs Liberty Sculpture Park.
For its part, Lingnan University announced the removal of a bas-relief commemorating the events of Tiananmen, the work of the same artist, after having
"examined and evaluated the elements on the campus which may present legal and security risks for the university community ”
. The wall bearing a representation of the Goddess of Democracy was also repainted there. On Friday afternoon, flyers bearing the Chinese character meaning
"shame"
were visible at the site of the bas-relief and elsewhere on campus.
Two young women claiming to be former students assured AFP that they were behind these leaflets, explaining that they were angry after the university's decision.
“They erase history.
I don't want to have to forget, ”
said a woman named Tsang, who claims to be from mainland China.
Georgetown Law School scholar Eric Lai sees the removal of the
Goddess of Democracy
from the CUHK campus as
"a further submission of the local (university) authorities to the national security regime
.
"
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"Political jacks"
Mr. Lai was chair of the student union when the statue was installed on campus in 2010. “
As my student union members and I insisted, the new goddess of democracy was installed on the CUHK campus in attendance. about 2,000 students and citizens, despite the refusal of the school administration,
”Mr. Lai tweeted, adding that the work had become a symbol for the student protests. CUHK's student union, known for its active role in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, was disbanded in October. The withdrawal of the statues was greeted by some of the 90 political leaders elected on Sunday at the local assembly in a ballot reserved for "
patriotic
" candidates.
»And for a small part only by direct universal suffrage.
“
Many politicians have manipulated populist sentiments and incited hatred by using the banner of democracy and freedom.
Today, Hong Kong people can finally breathe freely and return to normal life
, ”wrote Horace Cheung, vice-president of DAB, Hong Kong's largest pro-Chinese party.
Read alsoHongkong: Jimmy Lai and two other activists sentenced for a vigil for Tiananmen
The day before, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) had unbolted another statue, the
Pillar of shame
, commemorating the bloody repression of June 4, 1989. The universities thus join the repression underway in the city against the tributes to the Tiananmen events which have long been a symbol of the political freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong until last year.
The annual vigil on June 4 has been banned since 2020, officially for health and safety reasons.
Several of its organizers were arrested and a museum chronicling the crackdown on the Chinese student movement in 1989 was closed.
Read also In Hong Kong, resistance to the Chinese regime is organized in the shadows
Beijing left its authoritarian mark on the former British colony after the large and sometimes violent protests of 2019, including a draconian national security law.
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