We'll be back, say sculptor's sons

Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot's two sons expressed a desire to return to Hong Kong with their father next year, despite the fact that the sculptor-activist has been denied entry to the city twice.

Lasse and Kasper Galschiot, along with documentary cameraman Niels Madsen, will leave the city tonight after a one-week stay, participating in events commemorating the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The trio yesterday visited the University of Hong Kong to inspect Jens Galschiot's sculpture, the Pillar of Shame - a memorial to the student pro-democracy protesters killed when Communist Party leaders unleashed the People's Liberation Army in Beijing. They also brought with them their father's sculptures Fragments of a Democracy Story I and II that have been donated to the university and the Legislative Council.

But repair work on Pillar of Shame cannot be done without the sculptor's help. 'A hole in the pillar is to mark the government's denial of entry to Mr Galschiot,' said Szeto Wah, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China. 'I hope one day that he will come and repair the pillar himself.'

Galschiot was denied entry to Hong Kong by immigration authorities after five hours of questioning on May 30 at Chek Lap Kok airport. Last year, the sculptor and his sons were all denied entry ahead of the city's Olympic torch relay.

But his two sons said yesterday that they would definitely try again next year. 'You should not give up,' Kasper said. 'The massacre in 1989 does not mean you stop demanding democracy. You have to keep on fighting and keep on trying.'