Pillar of Shame to be removed from HKU: sources

The Pillar of Shame in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre will be moved away from the University of Hong Kong over fear for violating national security law, sources said.

The eight-meter tall statue was built by Danish artist Jens Galschiot. Twisting bodies and painful expressions were carved to symbolize student protesters who lost their lives during the crackdown.

The words "The Tiananmen Massacre", "June 4th 1989" and "The old cannot kill the young forever” were engraved into the base of the statue.

The university refused to comment on the matter, only saying that the school will regularly revise the use of facilities in the campus.

The statue has been sitting on the podium of Haking Wong Building of the university since the June 4th vigil in 1997 as students fought for a place for the statue in the school.

Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, former vice chairman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was shocked to hear the news.

He said the school has let the statue stayed there for around 20 years, which is a long period of time. He continued that the school has a duty to be responsible to history, adding that they must consult students first and take the feelings of the public into account before performing any action.