Pillar of Shame to be unveiled in University of Oslo

The replica of Hong Kong’s “Pillar of Shame” is being unveiled in Norway in May 2022 and will be on display in the garden of University of Oslo for almost a month until June 20, CNN reported. It’s been coordinated by Amnesty International and the non-profit organization Hong Kong Committee in Norway. To acknowledge the 33 years of military crackdown in Tiananmen Square, a commemorative event is being organized there on June 4.

The “Pillar of Shame” that stood strong for almost 25 years on the University of Hong Kong (HKU) campus to honour the victims of 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre was pulled down on 22^nd December, 2021. The pro-democracy protests were violently crushed by armed Chinese troops in the massacre. According to CNN, Jens Galschiot said “The message is to show the world that we’re still talking about Hong Kong, we won’t forget Hong Kong and what China is doing in Hong Kong”, during the unveiling ceremony at University of Oslo. The artist is still trying to recover the Hong Kong’s “Pillar of Shame”.

In an interview to CNN, he was noted saying “It’s not possible to kill a symbol, you can only make it stronger”. He further accused Norway of avoiding “the China discussion” too. The Director of Amnesty International Norway, John Peder Egenaes also blamed the Norwegian government for showing a shameful cowardice towards China in a press release announcing the unveiling of Galschiot’s new statue.

Earlier this year, a smaller version of the sculpture was also erected in Budapest, Hungary and unveiling at Prague, Czech Republic are on the cards. Galschiot hopes to install a bronze “Pillar of Shame” in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC.