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Background and history
January 1, 2022:
about statements the former University of Hong Kong's council chairman Arthur Li. and a comment from jens Galschiøt
About my sculpture "The pillar of shame"
(This letter is Google translated and may therefore contain translation errors)
I just received the following info from the press (Mingpao Hong Kong) about statements the former University of Hong Kong's council chairman Arthur Li
the words from the former Chairman of HKU Council Mr Arthur Li mentioning you and the pillar of shame which used to be at HKU. He decribed that the pillar of shame is a "scam" / "lie" that it was actually made by you for the Oklahoma City Bombing but not the Tiannanmen massacre. He also said that neither the US government nor other countries accepted the pillar of shame so you sent it to Hong Kong.
I strongly dissociate myself from what the former University of Hong Kong's council chairman Arthur Li is saying. It is strange and completely unacceptable to be called a liar by a man who advocates taking down works of art that try to remember and mark Chinese history.
It is Arthur Li who is trying to obliterate history and wants to oppress everyone who is in favor of citizens' free rights to debate, and to remember what is happening in Chinese society both now and in the past. It is a disgrace that the monument "The pillar and shame" has been removed with violence from Honkkong University and it is a disgrace that the university people can go in to wipe out history.
It's not me who's lying and manipulating the story, but perhaps Arthur Li is probably trying to create a breeding ground for a lie that the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre never took place.
I made created The Pillar of Shame in 1993 to 1995. It was my intention to create a monument that remembered various landmark crimes against humanity around the world. The same sculpture was to be erected in several different places in the world to mark these crimes.
Therefore, all the different peoples are represented the sculpture, Asians, Africans, European, indigenous peoples from the American continent ect, so that the same sculpture could mark different crime. Only the large shelf was very special for each country.
The sculpture was called "The Nobel Prize of Shame" by the press. And China received the first "award" for the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.
It is a very important point and an artistic decision that the sculpture should be the same everywhere it
should mark a crime, to emphasize that the essence of these crimes in the world is the same no matter where they took place
I decided that the first "pillar of shame" should be erected in Hong Kong in 1997, to mark the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989.
I presented it in Rome, Italy in 1995, during a major international meeting. I got a lot of suggestions on where to put up a copy of The Pillar of Shame. But I chose the first one to be erected in Hong Kong in 1997 and I made a special copy and a special plinth for Hong Kong.
Some years after the year 2000, I set up a "Pillar of Shame" in Mexico to mark the killing of the indigenous people and in 2001, I set up another one in Brazil to mark the massacre of the landless peasants and the struggle for land in Brazil. It is still my intention that I will line up more in the world.
The pillar of shame in Hong Kong, is the most important of these sculptures, as it was the first to be erected and it has formed a school for the 2 other "Pillar of Shame" "in the world.
"The old cannot kill the young forever" chiseled into the base of "The pillar of Shame" is a quote taken from the students at Tiananmen Square in 1989 and this quote is on the sculptures erected in Mexico and Brazil
Yours sincerely
Jens Galschiøt
Mobile +45 40447058
*****
23 december 2021
Attached is a press release from the Hong Kong Committee in Norway: A monument to freedom and democracy in Hong Kong disappears.
We have made a Google translate of the statement and put the Norwegian origina under
Best jens mobil +45 4044 7058
Google translate of the statement
Attached is a press release from the Hong Kong Committee in Norway: A monument to freedom and democracy in Hong Kong disappears.
Best regards,
Jessica KaYi Chiu
Hong Kong Committee in Norway, chair
Tel: +47 9687 7853
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standwithhk.norway/
IG: @ standwithhk.norway
Twitter: @hkc_no
Web: https://hongkongkomiteen.org/
Press release from the Hong Kong Committee in Norway:
A monument to freedom and democracy in Hong Kong disappears
Today, Danish Jens Galschiøt's sculpture Pillar of Shame (Skamstøtten) is removed from
campus at Hong Kong University. The sculpture is a memorial to those who died in
the massacre that crushed the protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 4, 1989.
Galschiøt, who himself owns the sculpture, has repeatedly approached
Hong Kong authorities to come to an arrangement so that the sculpture can be brought to
Denmark. He has then explained that special competence is required so that the sculpture does not become
broken. Galschiøt has not been informed in advance of the current operation. Testimonials
indicates that there is a great danger that the sculpture is about to be destroyed.
This action joins the ranks of the Hong Kong authorities' attempts to erase
out the memories in Hong Kong of the massacre. Previously, the authorities closed June 4-
museum in Hong Kong, denied the people their statutory right to mark the crime,
forcibly dissolved the organization working for freedom and democracy in mainland China,
arrested the organization's leaders for alleged violations of the Security Act, and restricted
access to the June 4 Museum website.
The Hong Kong Committee in Norway condemns the authorities' attempts to write about and
falsify the story of the historically essential, peaceful uprising in support of
democracy and freedom in China. If the unconfirmed reports of destruction turn out to
bring correctness, there are methods from Mao's cultural revolution that have now come to
Hong Kong. This action will then show how Hong Kong's former freedoms are now in
free fall.
With its attacks on the population's collective memory of the atrocities of 1989 gives
Carrie Lams steer us associations in the direction of a modern barbarism, with attacks on
objective storytelling inspired by George Orwell's Nineteen - four.
Brief background information
The Pillar of Shame was first unveiled during the memorial service at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on 4 June
1997. It was then moved between several of the universities in Hong Kong. From September
In 1998, the statue was permanently exhibited at Hong Kong University.
Ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Galschiøt launched the project The Color Orange, there
orange color was used to express support for human rights. As part of this
the project was Pillar of Shame painted orange in 2008. Since then, the students at Hong
King University painted the statue orange on June 4 each year. They did this again this year, something like
may have been the last commemoration of the Hong Kong massacre in a long time
******
22 december 2021
I'm totally shocked that Hong Kong University is currently destroying the pillar of shame
It is completely unreasonable and a self-immolation against private property in Hong Kong- I have now for over 3 months written to Hong Kong University that I would like to move the sculpture.
But it has been completely impossible to get in touch with them - all my attempts to contact them have been rejected and my lawyer in Hong Kong has also tried to contact them, but failed.
It is my private property and the sculpture belongs to me personally- I have written to them several times and the Hong Kong Alliance has sent out a statement that it is my private property and that they only have it on loan for exhibition at Hong Kong University
So I have to demand that Hong Kong one take care of the sculpture. And I will claim compensation for any damage to the sculpture.
I myself have offered to go to Hong Kong with a team, and remove the sculpture nor have I been given the opportunity, Hong Kong universities will not talk to me.
Countries around the world have offered to receive The Pillar of Shame and the Danish Foreign Minister has offered his help - but there has been no response from Hong Kong universities or other responsible authorities - it is a disgrace and an abuse and shows that Hong Kong has become a brutal place without laws and regulations such as protecting the population, the arts and private property
And it's even more grotesque that they use the Western holiday, Christmas, to carry out the destruction of the artwork.
Letter from the Alliance on Galschiøt ownership of the sculpture
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（2021年10月13日新聞稿）
支聯會（香港市民支援愛國民主運動聯合會）及兩名清盤人蔡耀昌、鄧燕娥就孖士打律師行於2021年10月7日代表香港大學發出的信件（Ref: AMJS/JSYW/AFK/21690549），於10月13日回覆律師行關於豎立在黃克競樓平台的「國殤之柱」雕塑安排。（詳見附件）
「國殤之柱」屬於原創作者丹麥雕塑家高志活先生（Mr. Jens Galschiot），於1997年「六四」8周年前，借出「國殤之柱」予支聯會供在香港永久展覽。近日，高志活先生發出公開聲明表示他仍是「國殤之柱」擁有人，而據悉他亦已委託律師跟進「國殤之柱」有關事宜；為此，支聯會認為，未來較合適的做法是由香港大學校方直接與高志活先生代表律師接洽處理。
1998年11月3日，香港大學學生會全民投票通過永久擺放「國殤之柱」，1999年6月4日晚，由港大學生會從維多利亞公園運往香港大學黃克競樓平台永久擺放至今，見證香港回歸中國後的民主和人權發展。高志活先生更於2013年9月26日至10月2日，來港修葺「國殤之柱」和重新髹上橙色。
支聯會清盤人蔡耀昌認為，香港大學作為一個具言論及學術自由的空間，有社會責任及使命保留「國殤之柱」，期望校方依據過往20多年的行事標準，繼續容許「國殤之柱」於港大校園豎立。
如有查詢，請Signal、 WhatsApp 27826111或致電 90378964與蔡耀昌聯絡。
聯會清盤人蔡耀昌謹啟
2021年10月13日
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******
22. december 2021
Breaking news: The pillar of Shame is being destroyed in these minutes.
The pillar of shame in Hong Kong is being destroyed in these minutes. An hour ago, construction work began to cover the sculpture. And we have received information from the press that it is being dismantled in these minutes
The whole area of Hong Kong University where the sculpture has stood for 24 years has been covered and there is a lot of noise inside behind the curtain.
So it suggests that machines and humans are in the process of breaking down the sculpture.
We encourage everyone to go out to Hong Kong University and document everything that happens with the sculpture,
We have done everything we can to tell the University of Hong Kong that we would very much like to pick up the sculpture and bring it to Denmark.
Check this video from the university in Hong Kong right now:
*****
December 2021
Herewith a briefing about the situation with the Pillar of Shame
3D Print: A fantastic beautiful 3D scan of the Pillar of Shame in Hong Kong has been posted on the internet for free use see link.
At the moment, many 3D printers are printing copies of the sculpture. I regularly receive photos and emails from people who are working. These small copies are used as small memorials to the Tiananmen Square massacre 4 june 1989 and placed around as both exhibition objects but also as streetart figures.
3D Print it out and join the action and spread it on social media and other platforms.
Take photo of the sculpture located in all possible and impossible places, in front of the local Chinese Embassy, or in the local parliament, on top of Mount Everest, on Mount Hong Kong, in Nepal, and New York.
You can put up copies of the sculpture at your school, university or workplace or around the city - only the imagination sets limits.
But be carefull - this is certainly not harmless art.
So the paradox is that in an attempt to remove the monument in Hong Kong, a process has been initiated in which thousands of copies begin to spread all over the globe, keeping the memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre 4 June 1989 alive.
Open letter
I have now been waiting almost 1 month for response from Hong Kong University regarding moving the sculpture, and I have received nothing.
I have therefore today sent the following open letter to the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong authorities to clarify the situation regarding The Pillar of Shame
In the letter I write that I would like to pick up the monument of the tiananmen square massacre June 4, 1989. But to be able to do that, I must have security for me and my staff and those I work with in Hong Kong not being arrested.
At the same time, the various authorities in Hong Kong need to be willing to work together to get the sculpture out of Hong Kong. Otherwise it will not be possible. See the letter under this email or download it at the link
They received the letter on 12 Nov and I am still waiting for a reply.
Yours sincerely
Jens Galschiøt
*******
Denmark 12. Nov. 2021
Open letter to The University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong authorities
from Jens Galschiøt, the artist behind the Monument of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989
My legal representative in Hong Kong has since October 12, 2021, attempted to contact The University of Hong Kong around the removal of the Monument of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989. We have also sent a letter to the university's legal representative Mayer Brown and have tried to get clarification and collaboration around the removal.
The Pillar of Shame, as the monument is also called, has for 24 years been exhibited at The University of Hong Kong.
We have not at the time of writing received a reply to our inquiries. I am therefore sending this open letter through the press to reach an agreement on how we can resolve the situation around the monument, which I am the rightful owner of.
I can understand from statements in the press from The University of Hong Kong, that: “a Hong Kong University spokesperson did not directly respond but told Hong Kong Free Press that they are still seeking legal advice and working with related parties to handle the matter in a legal and reasonable manner.”
I am very happy to hear this, as I am also interested in resolving the situation and getting started on moving the sculpture.
However, there are issues we must clarify and agree on first:
1. Full cooperation: The University of Hong Kong must enter into a full cooperation with myself to have the sculpture removed, otherwise it will not be possible. I need the university to assist with technical assistance, roadblocks, permits and other advisory support.
2. My presence in Hong Kong is necessary: The sculpture is very difficult to move, and it will require considerable expertise to move it from the area at the university without causing significant and irreparable damage to the costly sculpture. The move will therefore require me to personally come to Hong Kong with my team of staff who, in collaboration with local Hong Kong companies and helpers in Hong Kong, can undertake the work. The sculpture can then be transported out of Hong Kong to Denmark.
3.Immunity from prosecution: I can understand from the press that the introduction of the new security legislation in Hong Kong means that there is a legal basis for arresting foreign nationals who engage in activities that criticize China. A removal of the Monument of The Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 will lead to activities and media coverage that could be perceived as criticism of China. Therefore, I will have to get a guarantee that my employees and I will not be prosecuted in relation to the disassemblement and moving of the monument.
I propose that such an agreement is made between the responsible authorities in Hong Kong and in Denmark. I can state that I have twice been refused entry into Hong Kong by the local authorities.
The Hong Kong authorities must also guarantee that the local people and companies that I will need to work with in Hong Kong will not be prosecuted because they have helped a foreign artist remove and dismantle the monument.
It will be difficult to move forward with the planning and procedure before we get the above issues clarified. As soon as I have received a positive message about the cooperation from The University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong authorities, I will start planning the specific procedure for moving the Monument of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989.
I have sent this letter to my legal representative in Hong Kong and asked the representative to send the letter to the Hong Kong authorities and The University of Hong Kong's management and responsible authorities.
I believe, it is important to preserve the history of any country, and I am therefore sorry that my monument, which is a memorial to the events at The Tiananmen Square 1989 in China, is no longer welcome. Of course, I would very much have preferred for the monument to stay at The University of Hong Kong, where it has been for 24 years.
However, in full collaboration with both the university and the Hong Kong authorities, I will remove the sculpture and send it to Denmark.
With the hope of a good and constructive cooperation,
Jens Galschiøt
******
17 Oct. 2021
China has attacked art symbol of Tiananmen Square crackdown. We won the first two battles - but everything is uncertain!
We are under attack from China in Hong Kong. In a letter the democracy movement was given a deadline of 4 days to move the 9 m high sculpture, which is a memorial to the Tiananmen square crackdown in 1989, otherwise China would destroy the sculpture that has beeb standing at Hong Kong University for 24 years.
We are quite pressed for time, so we just send this short newsletter.
Everything has been chaos since, and we have mobilized our networks all over the world to prevent the sculpture from being destroyed. And it's been successful so far.
Thousands of NGOs, artists, activists, politicians and other good people have joined the fight to preserve the sculpture, and we have succeeded to postpone the destruction of the artwork.
At the same time, it has succeeded in setting a new standard for what U.S. law firms can allow themselves to do to help the Chinese goverment. Part of the pressure to prevent the destruction of the artwork has been directed at getting the law firm Mayer Brown to withdraw from helping Hong Kong University destroy and remove the sculpture. And we succeeded on the 15th of October.
So 2 battles have been won, but it is still uncertain whether we can get the opportunity to get the sculpture out of Hong Kong.
So we need all the help we can get, by informing about China's attacks on art and freedom of speech. If necessary, Forward this email to a friend or create one yourself.
All the activities have been continuously described by a huge press campaign. We have made a selection of the articles here - good reading - you can probably find something from your own country as well.
Although we have worked ourselves to death, this struggle for art and the Chinese's right to remember their own history is also a very life-affirming experience. The whole process shows that it is possible for ordinary people to enact a little influence on the global stage.
7.380.000 link: A quick Google search word combination "Pillar of Shame" (a word that comes specifically from this sculpture, as we created it ourselves) today gives 7.380.000 links.
"We are still alive". We have written history and shown that there are limits to what the world will allow.
All the best
Jens Galschiøt - The artist behind The Piller of Shame
and his hard-working staff
Denmark 17 Oct 2021
Email: Jens @galschiot.com
Mobile: Tlf: +45 4044 7058
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In 1997, I erected an 8 meter tall monument in Hong Kong in memorial of the massacre. This monument is so far still the only memorial about the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil.
Placing this sculpture in Hong Kong cost me a permanent expulsion from China and two expulsions from Hong Kong. I think it's important that artists, cultural groups, and others that defend human rights use their freedom of speech to tell the story of the massacre. I hope that you will help in doing this.
32 years after the massacre history seems to be tragically repeating itself. Now with Hong Kong as the epicenter for youth demanding their basic Human Rights and the Chinese Government forcefully fighting down the youth. China has passed landmark legislation to force national security laws in Hong Kong, effectively crushing the city's autonomy, removing pro-democratic forces from the parliament and sending pro-democrats in jail.
In February 2020 I erected ‘A Pillar of Shame’ sculpture in front of the Danish parliament, as a protest against that China is once again using extreme force against youth people demonstrating for their democracy rights, this time in Hong Kong.
The China's National People's Congress are now directly interfering with the justice system and the freedom of speech in Hong Kong, which is an unprecedented violation of the agreement between England and China for the handover of Hong Kong. China has fundamentally changed the status of Hong Kong and basic Human and Democracy rights are no longer respected as they used to be.
I hereby encourage everyone to protest against China’s assault on Hong Kong citizens.
Let us remeber the youth that lost their life at Tiananmen Square and let us support the youth in Hong Kong, so we will not see the same tragic outcome once again.
Kind regards,
Jens Galschiøt
About Hong Kong at the moment
China’s supression of free speech is spreading to Hong Kong. Galschiot is just one of many critics who have been denied entry. So the city is deprived of a cultural exchange that is taken for granted in all open democratic societies. The expulsions are a blatant violation of the principle of ‘One country – Two systems’ that was guaranteed as part of Hong Kong’s reunion with China in ‘97.
In 2013 Galschiøt managed to enter Hong Kong to repair ‘The Pillar of Shame’. In these very years Hong Kong stands on the precipice of realizing the 1997 agreements with China, to develop a real democracy in Hong Kong. But they are under a lot of pressure from non-democratic forces. The results of these negotiations are crucial for the future of Hong Kong.
Throughout 2019 and 2020 massive demonstrations in Hong Kong took place. They fought for their basic human rights that China promised Hong Kong's citizens when they took over the country in 1997, But the peaceful demonstrations have been met with comprehensive violent force from Hong Kong's police.
Today China has passed landmark legislation to force national security laws in Hong Kong, effectively crushing the city's autonomy, removing pro-democratic forces from the parliament and sending pro-democrats in jail.
A functioning democracy on Chinese ground, even though only in Hong Kong, is an extremely important symbol for the more than one billion living in mainland China.
Useful links:
The democracy movement in Hong Kong:
Phone: +852 2782 6111
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About Jens Galschiøt:
Danish artist Jens Galschiøt has created many socio-critical sculptures and installations through the years. Most often they are placed in public spaces around the world – as needle-sticks and silent reminders of a world that, in his opinion, is out of balance, and where exploitation of the world’s resources, inequality and migration are a constant part of the picture.
General information about Galschiøt can be found at:
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