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Goddess of Democracy

香港 Hong Kong, Italy

Goddess of Democracy

Hong Kong's Goddess of Democracy is a 6.4-metre faux bronze statue sculpted by Chen Weiming, inspired by the original 10-metre tall Goddess of Democracy. The original foam and papier-mâché statue was erected by the Chinese pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square at the end of May 1989, and destro

yed by soldiers clearing the protesters from Tiananmen square on 4 June 1989. Three successive political controversies surrounded the statue in 2010 in the backdrop to the twenty-first anniversary of the suppression of the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement. Firstly, it was seized by the Hong Kong police at a street rally at the public open space in Times Square, Causeway Bay on the grounds that the display violated safety regulations, which was, according to the protesters, a trumped up charge. Secondly, the sculptor was denied entry into Hong Kong on 2 June, when he journeyed to Hong Kong to examine the sculpture for possible damage whilst in police custody. Thirdly, the erection of the statue on the campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was denied by university authorities, to the ire of the student leadership. The various controversies surrounding the statue reportedly increased...

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