Two other Hong Kong universities have removed public monuments honoring the 1989 Tiananmen protests in Beijing after destroying a sculpture marking victims of the military crackdown at the University of Hong Kong earlier this week.

A 6.4-meter tall bronze "Goddess of Democracy" monument holding a flame aloft at Hong Kong's Chinese University was taken from a public piazza soon before daybreak on Friday.

"Following an internal assessment, and as the manager of the university campus, CUHK has removed the statue," the university stated in a statement.

The Hong Kong sculpture was modeled on a 10-meter white plaster and foam statue created by students in Tiananmen Square in 1989 to symbolize their dedication to achieving liberty and democracy in China under Communist Party control.

Hong Kong's Lingnan University similarly took down a Tiananmen massacre wall relief sculpture that included a portrayal of the "Goddess of Democracy."

The sculpture includes photos of a line of tanks halting before a lone protester known as "tank man" and casualties shot by the Chinese military being carried away.

The artist, Chen Weiming, who produced both the statue and wall relief, indicated that he would sue the colleges if any damage to his artwork.

A towering crimson painting of the Goddess of Democracy in the Lingnan University student union main hall had also been painted over in grey paint.

Clampdown

Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 and was promised broad-reaching autonomy and freedoms by China under a so-called "one country, two systems" arrangement.

Authorities have been tightening down on activists in Hong Kong under a national security measure introduced in June 2020. Human rights activists claim the new law is being used to undermine civil society, arrest democracy campaigners and curtail fundamental freedoms.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials believe the security laws have restored peace and stability following massive protests in 2019 and that fundamental rights and freedoms are still safeguarded.

"Since the Chinese communists implemented the national security law in Hong Kong, they have eradicated the freedom of press, of assembly and the freedom of expression," artist Weiming remarked.

"They want to hide the real history of the terrible crackdown…

they wouldn't allow any diverse opinions to continue to exist in Hong Kong."

When asked whether Hong Kong or Chinese authorities had commanded all three colleges to remove these Tiananmen statues, the office of Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, had no immediate answer.