A dark and gloomy day in Hong Kong, both literally and figuratively

The Pillar of Shame, whose removal from its present location

will bring shame on those responsible for issuing the order

 

It's been a dark and gloomy day -- literally, with my needing to have the lights turned on in my apartment all day.  Though Hong Kong's not been visited by a typhoon, one (named Lionrock, as it so happens!) has come close enough to cause Typhoon Signal Number 3 to be issued, ditto the black rain warning, and an overall pretty bad weather day -- with quite a bit of flooding in areas (captured in epic videos like this, this and this) and a scaffolding collapse that's claimed a life.    

But what turned the day figuratively gloomy and dark was the confirmation this afternoon of the reports (heard this past weekend) that the authorities have moved to remove, maybe even destroy, the Pillar of Shame sculpture that has stood on the University of Hong Kong campus for 24 years now.  More specifically, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has asked the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China to remove the eight meter memorial to the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre by 5pm of October 13th (i.e., next Wednesday); failing which "the Sculpture will be deemed abandoned and the University will not consider any future request from you in respect of the Sculpture, and the University will deal with the Sculpture at such time and in such manner as it thinks fit without further notice."

 

In view of the sculpture being eight meters tall and not exactly portable, it's a big ask for it to be moved within such a short timeframe as the one stipulated by the University of Hong Kong -- and this even more so when the organization which the University authorities apparently expect to carry out this task is one which no longer officially exists.  Interestingly, although many people had assumed that the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democrative Movements of China owns the statue, its sculptor, Danish artist Jens Galschiøt has claimed ownership of it -- and has said that he would consider taking legal action against the University of Hong Kong if it were to destroy the artwork.   

 

In any case, this much is clear: shame has brought onto the University of Hong Kong -- and Hong Kong in general -- that a demand has been issued for the removal of the Pillar of Shame from the territory's premier institution of higher learning.  Also, this action clearly is "another attempt to whitewash history and suppress collective memory" a la what has happened in Mainland China.   

 

Just three years ago, when the then Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democrative Movements of China chair Albert Ho was asked whether he was worried that the sculpture would not be allowed to stay at the University of Hong Kong amid deteriorating political conditions and with a then new Mainland China-born vice-chancellor at the helm, Ho said he believed the pillar would remain.  His reasoning behind this was thus: "I believe any attempts to move the Pillar of Shame would symbolise a complete stripping of the university’s freedom of speech and expression"; and "the pillar standing [at the university] symbolises not only its basic values – of the fight for freedom and the fight for democracy – but symbolises an even more fundamental thing, which is freedom of expression. So I think no one will dare challenge this core value."

 

A reminder: not only has the organization he then was head of now disbanded, Ho is currently behind bars -- along with a number of other key members of the now defunct Alliance.  Among Ho's fellow political prisoners -- many of whom, it should be remembered, haven't actually been convicted of any crimes but are in custody after being denied bail post having national security law charges slapped on them -- are a number of fellow former legislative councillors (e.g., "King of votes" Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, seen in chains at a hospital in photos which found their way onto Twitter today) and district councillors.  

 

And lest it be thought otherwise, even those pro-democracy district councillors who have not been in jail aren't being spared persecution.  To wit, the disqualification of 16 more of them today deemed after the oaths of allegiance they were asked to take were deemed "invalid" by the powers that be; bringing the total number of councillors to be stripped of their elected positions since the start of the oath-taking arrangements to 33.  

 

Truly, the times seem so dark when viewed from a Hong Kong vantage point.  And, indeed, it's international developments that have supplied me the most cheer in recent days.  Specifically, and as improbable as it may seem, the Nobel Prize announcements made yesterday and today have actually been a source of joy for me!  

 

As someone with a personal connection to Zanzibar (and who first read his books decades ago), I loved that Abdulrazak Gurnah was named this year's Nobel Laureate for Literature and appreciated that the Nobel Prize committee recognized "his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents."  On a more sobering note, on a day when yet another friend announced on Facebook that he (and, I'd assume, his wife too) had left Hong Kong, I can't help but think that his work would speak to many Hong Kongers these days on account of "the theme of the refugee’s disruption run[ning] throughout it". 

 

And then there's the awarding of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace".  Surely you, dear reader, don't need me explaining why this award is something that is so inspiring for Hong Kongers who care about press freedom, freedom of expression and democracy, and wish for that to not be wiped off the face of Hong Kong as well as the rest of the world?!