Time to get rid of the Pillar of Shame

Recent university student leaders, almost all localists, have boycotted the annual June 4 vigil and repudiated the memory of the Chinese tragedy as foreign to them, so they have long had no reason to keep the statue at the University of Hong Kong

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The sculpture is at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus in Pok Fu Lam. Photo: Nora Tam

Alex Lo

Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, covering major issues affecting Hong Kong and the rest of China.

Published: 9:00pm, 6 Oct 2021Updated: 10:31pm, 6 Oct 2021

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor never learns. Hong Kong’s political landscape has completely changed in the past two years, but the mindset of our chief executive stays the same.

You can tell by her answer when asked about what should be done about the Pillar of Shame at the University of Hong Kong.

Though she is the official chancellor of all the public universities, she said she would not interfere with HKU management, which reportedly plans to remove the statue commemorating those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Wrong answer, Mrs Lam. The statue has no place at the university, and you should say it. Take a stand, make a clear statement.

It’s not that you are the chancellor, a purely ceremonial post. Rather, it’s because you are the city’s leader. If you approve ending the annual June 4 vigil in Victoria Park, then own it.

That extends to getting rid of the Pillar of Shame.

The Pillar of Shame is a sculpture created by Danish artist Jens Galschiot. Photo: Nora Tam