For over 20 years, a twisted sculpture of human torsos has stood at the University of Hong Kong to remind people of the pro-democracy protesters killed at China’s Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. On Thursday, it was pulled down. The school had initially ordered the removal of the statue, known as the “Pillar of Shame,” two months ago following Beijing’s sustained attacks on political dissent in Hong Kong. “The decision on the aged statue was based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university,” the university said in a statement Thursday. Reuters reported that the 26-foot-high copper sculpture was split into two pieces and loaded into a truck shortly after midnight. Staff placed pots of poinsettia flowers, a traditional Christmas decoration in Hong Kong, where the statue once stood. “The university is a coward to do this at midnight,” one student said. “I feel very disappointed as it’s a symbol of history.”
