The creator of a Tiananmen Square statue that has been on display at the University of Hong Kong is asking for immunity from the city’s national security law so he can come back to help transfer the statue to Denmark.
Jens Galschiot loaned the statue more than two decades ago to the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements.
The statue, called the “Pillar of Shame,” was set to be removed in October, but a U.S. law firm backed out of plans to help remove the statue after receiving backlash for the decision. The statue is still at the school almost a month past the deadline to remove it.
Galschiot is looking to come back to the city so the $1.4 million statue that honors the victims of Tiananmen Square can be transferred to Denmark, but he fears he and his colleagues could be arrested under the national security law, Reuters reported.
The national security law, enacted last year, has been used to silence pro-democracy voices and those who speak out against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.
“I can understand from the press that the introduction of the new security legislation in Hong Kong means that there is a legal basis for arresting foreign nationals who engage in activities that criticise China,” Galschiot wrote in a letter to the government, according to Reuters.
The removal of the statue “will lead to activities and media coverage that could be perceived as criticism of China. Therefore, I will have to get a guarantee that my employees and I will not be prosecuted,” he added.
The group he loaned the statue to disbanded in September due to the national security law, one of many pro-democracy groups to fall since the law’s implementation in 2020.