Tiananmen Square Massacre Statue

Subject – IR

Context – Hong Kong University ordered removal of Tiananmen Square massacre statue

Concept –

What is the Pillar of Shame statue?

The Pillar of Shame statue was made in remembrance of the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, which is referred to as the June 4 incident by Chinese authorities.
The People’s Liberation Army had opened fire on student protestors who had been protesting since mid-April in 1989 against corruption, unemployment, inflation, etc.
The statue shows 50 bodies — with anguish-ridden faces — piled up together commemorating unarmed student protestors who were killed as Chinese troops opened fire on them.
The 8-metre high statue has been placed within Haking Wong Building inside the Hong Kong University since 1997.
It was painted orange as it “was a mixture of red, representing the dictatorship of China, and yellow, representing freedom and human rights”.

Were Hong Kong protests linked to this clampdown?

The 2019 Hong Kong protests began against a proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed authorities to extradite citizens to other countries including China.
Although, after the bill was taken back, the protests grew into being against the increasing control of Chinese authorities over Hong Kong and the loss of the city’s autonomy over its functioning.
The protests, which turned extremely violent and went on for months, were against Chinese authorities gaining control over the citizens of Hong Kong and the window of freedom decreasing with bills like extradition law and National Security Law.