The monumental Pillar of Shame sculpture stood for years in the University of Hong Kong as a memorial to the people killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Then, last December, university authorities took the sculpture apart amid a crackdown on political dissent. Now, more than six months later, democracy activists in Taiwan will unveil a copy of the sculpture in the center of Taipei.
Organizers will reveal the replica on the grounds of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on June 4 to mark the 33rd anniversary of the massacre, when Chinese government forces fought their way into Beijing to put down the city’s pro-democracy protests.
Before Beijing began its crackdown in 2019, tens of thousands of people would gather in central Hong Kong to hold a candlelight vigil for the people killed in Tiananmen Square. Now, participants face prosecution under the National Security Law.
The chair of civic group Citizen Congress Watch, Tseng Chien-yuan, says Taiwan is a part of a global coalition of democracies. He says it is vital for Taiwanese people to remember the massacre while facing pressure from China.
