Hong Kong university removes Tiananmen massacre statue

By KATIE TAM and ZEN SOO
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A monument at a Hong Kong university that commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has been removed by workers over the objections of its creator from Denmark. The 26-foot-tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt to symbolize the lives lost during the bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing on June 4, 1989. But the statue became an issue in October, with the university demanding that it be removed even as activists protested. Galschiøt offered to take it back provided he was given legal immunity that he won’t be persecuted. Hong Kong has cracked down on dissent following the 2019 pro-democracy protests, arresting over 100 activists.