Public Security chief launches digital vehicle plate wallet service    'Action is in our nature': 4th Saudi Green Initiative Forum to be held at COP16    Pop hit APT too distracting for South Korea's exam-stressed students    Saudi Arabia's inflation rate hits 1.9% in October, the highest in 14 months    Mohammed Al-Habib Real Estate Co. sets Guinness World Record with largest continuous concrete pour    PIF completes largest-ever accelerated bookbuild offering in MENA region    Saudi Arabia signs renewable energy program with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at COP29    Australia and Saudi Arabia settle for goalless draw in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of mass displacement in Gaza amounting to war crime    Thousands of protesters march in Paris ahead of tense football match between France and Israel    Republicans win 218 US House seats, giving Donald Trump control of government    UN sounds alarm at Israel's 'severe violations' at key buffer zone with Syria    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    Saudi, Indian foreign ministers co-chair Cooperation Committee meeting in New Delhi    South Korean actor Song Jae Lim found dead at 39    Don't sit on the toilet for more than 10 minutes, doctors warn    'Marvels of Saudi Orchestra' to dazzle audience in Tokyo on Nov. 22    Saudi Champion Saeed Al-Mouri scores notable feat in Radical World Championship in Abu Dhabi with support from Bin-Shihon Group    Rita Ora is tearful in tribute to Liam Payne at MTV Awards    France to deploy 4,000 police officers for UEFA Nations League match against Israel    Al Nassr edges past Al Riyadh with Mane's goal to move up to third    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hong Kong's Tiananmen Square statue removed
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 12 - 2021

A famous statue at the University of Hong Kong marking the Tiananmen Square massacre was removed late on Wednesday.
The statue showed piled-up corpses to commemorate pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese authorities in 1989.
It was one of the few remaining public memorials in Hong Kong commemorating the incident, which is a highly sensitive topic in China.
Its removal comes as Beijing has increasingly been cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong.
The city used to be one of few places in China that allowed public commemoration of the Tiananmen protests.
The university had initially ordered the removal of the statue - called the Pillar of Shame - in October.
"The decision on the aged statue was based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university," it said in a statement on Thursday.
"The university is also very concerned about the potential safety issues resulting from the fragile statue."
The first sign the statue was being taken down came late on Wednesday, when university officials fenced off the area with plastic sheeting.
Construction workers worked overnight behind plastic barriers to dismantle the 8m (26ft) copper statue. Security guards blocked reporters from approaching and tried to stop them from filming.
The BBC's Grace Tsoi, who was at the scene, said there was sound of cracking and drilling, but no one could see what was happening.
The statue depicts a column of dozens of torn and twisted bodies with anguished faces, "to remind us of a shameful event which must never recur", according to its sculptor, Jens Galschiot.
The university said it would put the statue, which has been on display at the university's campus for 24 years, into storage.
Galschiot called the removal "really brutal" and that he would consider suing the authorities and demand compensation.
"This is a sculpture about dead people and [to] remember the dead people in Beijing in '89. So when you destroy that in this way then it's like going to a graveyard and destroying all the gravestones," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.
"[The statue] was one of the few remaining prominent, public memorials [of the] crackdown... and a reminder of Hong Kong's freer past," Dr Ian Chong, Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, told the BBC.
"[Its removal] takes away yet another public focal point for commemorating of the massacre... [and] appears to signal that the Hong Kong and Beijing governments will no longer tolerate public displays of remembrance of the events surround June 4."
The statue's removal comes on the heels of a poorly attended Hong Kong parliamentary election that saw pro-Beijing candidates sweep into power, the timing of which Dr Chong termed "symbolic."
Beijing also introduced a strict national security law last year that criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, which activists say is being used to suppress civil society, jail democracy campaigners and curb basic freedoms.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators were killed by Chinese troops in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in the summer of 1989.
International condemnation ensued after troops and tanks opened fire on protesters.
The incident is considered highly politically sensitive in the mainland and authorities ban even oblique references to the events of 4 June.
In 2020, Hong Kong authorities banned the annual vigil commemorating Tiananmen for the first time in 30 years, citing Covid restrictions - though activists have accused local officials of bowing to pressure from Beijing to muzzle pro-democracy expression.
In October, nine pro-democracy Hong Kong activists were sentenced to between six and 10 months in prison for taking part in the vigil.
Earlier this month, media tycoon Jimmy Lai also received 13 months in prison for participating in the same vigil.


Clic here to read the story from its source.