Goddess of Democracy can’t catch a break

By John Kusumi

Goddess of Democracy in student-occupied Tiananmen Square

While Israel has been killing activists, Hong Kong has been arresting some — from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. (“the Alliance”) They are a counterpart organization with similar aims as the China Support Network.

It should bother us to hear of activists being arrested as they commemorate this year’s 21st anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre — because Hong Kong is not mainland China, and they were supposed to enjoy 50 years of “one country, two systems” as declared at the time of the handover. (Control of Hong Kong was handed from Britain to China in 1997.)

Hong Kong is a place where hundreds of thousands of people (150,000 in 2009) have attended protests about the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

The freedom to protest is ostensibly in Hong Kong, but this year, “not so much.” 13 activists were arrested on May 29, including one Hong Kong lawmaker and one Deputy Chairman of the Alliance.

According to the Epoch Times, “The police said the exhibition was halted because it did not have a permit from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.

“The organizers said similar activities were held during previous years without any problem and that the police had been informed about the activity beforehand.”

Meanwhile, there is a parallel story about the Goddess of Democracy — the statue which can’t catch a break. Hong Kong police confiscated a Goddess of Democracy statue and a Tiananmen massacre relief sculpture. This story is best told visually [photos follow]:

Before dawn, June 4 1989

Around daybreak, June 4 1989

First, they came for the activists. But I was a statue, so I said nothing...

(Activist can't catch a break either)

Hong Kong's finest go to work

Hong Kong, May 29 2010