Tiananmen massacre statue barricaded at Hong Kong university

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 boarded up by workers, prompting fears it may be destroyed as the city’s authorities crack down on dissent. The 26-foot-tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was created 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 of dispute in October, with the university demanding that it be removed even as the decision drew backlash from activists and rights groups. Galschiøt offered to take it back provided he was given legal immunity that he won’t be persecuted.