A Hong Kong court has jailed three Tiananmen vigil activists for between five and seven years, and the fate of Danish artist Jens Galschiøt’s sculpture “Pillar of Shame” remains unresolved.
DR reports that Galschiøt received the news at his workshop in Odense on September 11. Three of his Chinese friends were sentenced to prison for holding memorial ceremonies at his sculpture in Hong Kong. In DR’s report, the artist said the activists were imprisoned for washing, caring for and exhibiting the work.
Reuters names the three as Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho. According to Reuters, Lee and Chow each received seven years, while Ho, who pleaded guilty earlier, received five years and two months. All three have been detained since 2021, and their sentences include time already served.
The convictions were for inciting subversion of state power under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing. The Straits Times reports that the terms follow their roles in organizing Tiananmen remembrance activities. As noted by The Japan Times, the case has drawn condemnation from the United Nations, rights groups and foreign governments.
The sculpture is still in a container
The eight meter tall work has stood outside the University of Hong Kong since 1997. It honors the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in 1989, and shows 50 contorted bodies. Activists from the democracy movement washed the sculpture each year to mark the anniversary.
Public commemoration of those killed on June 4, 1989 was banned after the security law took effect in Hong Kong in 2020. The activists continued their ceremonies and were arrested in 2021, the same year the sculpture was removed. It was damaged during the removal and is now stored in a container by the Chinese authorities.
Per DR, the sculpture’s future will only be settled once a judge rules on who owns it. The prosecution in the case against the three activists argued that it should be destroyed. Galschiøt said he has sent letters and engaged lawyers, but is working with his back against the wall.
DR’s Asia correspondent, Philip Roin, said the massacre remains one of the most sensitive periods in modern Chinese history. He noted that the internet is censored more heavily each year on the anniversary. According to Roin, the Hong Kong government, today effectively appointed by Beijing, punishes residents who speak against the regime especially harshly.
The Chinese embassy in Denmark rejected criticism of the sentences in a written response to DR. The embassy stated that Hong Kong is a society based on law, and that those who endanger national security are punished accordingly. It described media attention on the trial as political manipulation and called the case an internal Chinese matter.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously been involved in the case, and Galschiøt said he hopes it will act again. He wants the full size sculpture brought home to his workshop in Odense.
