Councillors put off decision on Pillar of Shame site
Pro-democracy activists accused provisional urban councillors yesterday of dragging their feet after they postponed decisions on a permanent site to display the Pillar of Shame statue.
Procedural debates dominated the recreation sub-committee meeting as councillors left the discussion to the museum select committee which manages the Kowloon Park Sculpture Walk.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China has applied to display the sculpture, by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot, in the park in memory of protesters who died in the Tiananmen Square massacre. Alliance core member Cheung Man-kwong accused councillors of backing away from the issue because it was election time.
'They dare not oppose it because they fear that might deduct [popularity] points from them,' Mr Cheung said.
'The sculpture seems to have become a 'ball of shame', being kicked around by councillors.' The alliance had wanted approval before the June 4 anniversary this year so they could find a home for the sculpture after the candlelight vigil at Victoria Park.
Mr Cheung said they had already forwarded another letter to the Provisional Urban Council yesterday extending their application to any recreational ground under the council.
An Urban Services spokesman said there had been works of art which had not gone through the museum select committee before display but the Pillar of Shame case should be discussed at the committee because it was an overseas sculpture. 'The Sculpture Walk is for displaying local art work. If the Pillar of Shame is to stand there, that might mean a change in rules,' she said.
Museum select committee chairman Mok Ying-fan denied they were avoiding discussion and said they had scheduled a meeting on May 27 to debate the issue.
