The 8-meter (26-foot) -tall sculpture, which was taken away in parts, remembered the victims of China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Its removal is testament to the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to erase the bloody events of that day from the public consciousness. It also comes as the party snuffs out democratic challenges in Hong Kong to its rule. Together they signal the different future that lies ahead for the city of 7.4 million people.
torsdag 23. desember 2021
Explainer: Why did Beijing remove a Tiananmen memorial?
It happened in the dead of night. Workers at the University of Hong Kong put up barriers that largely blocked their activity from view and, over the next several hours, took down the towering “Pillar of Shame” and carted it away early Thursday in a container truck.
The 8-meter (26-foot) -tall sculpture, which was taken away in parts, remembered the victims of China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Its removal is testament to the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to erase the bloody events of that day from the public consciousness. It also comes as the party snuffs out democratic challenges in Hong Kong to its rule. Together they signal the different future that lies ahead for the city of 7.4 million people.
The 8-meter (26-foot) -tall sculpture, which was taken away in parts, remembered the victims of China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Its removal is testament to the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to erase the bloody events of that day from the public consciousness. It also comes as the party snuffs out democratic challenges in Hong Kong to its rule. Together they signal the different future that lies ahead for the city of 7.4 million people.
