A new HK$1.58m government advertising campaign for TVB’s In Touch with Palace Museum attracted several acts of protest over the weekend, ahead of a larger demonstration on Monday organised by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.
On Friday evening, a red hand-print appeared on the promotional ads, located between the Central and Hong Kong stations.
The MTR Corporation told HKFP that it had contacted the police: “Station staff immediately went to the site to find out more details and found what is believed to be paint on the advertisement. The mark was cleaned up afterwards. Station staff have reported the incident to the police for handling.”
One passerby on Twitter spotted MTR staff apparently standing guard in the area, though the MTRC said that staff occasionally “patrol stations from time to time to ensure a comfortable environment is maintained.”
I went back for another look this morning. The red handprint is gone and there are now multiple MTR staff standing around the corridor pic.twitter.com/ph5dpUZYKK
— Aaron Mc Nicholas (@aaronMCN) January 8, 2017
The campaign is to promote a HK$3.8 million television programme about the Palace Museum which launched over weekend. The show is airing amid recent controversy surrounding a local version of the museum set to be built at the West Kowloon Cultural District.
On Sunday, pictures of a tank sticker on a walkway handrail near the posters attracted over 1,600 “shares” and 3,100 “reactions” on Facebook. The tank appeared to be a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.
At 1pm on Monday, the Hong Kong Alliance – which organises the annual Tiananman massacre vigil in Victoria Park – will hold a protest rally at the site of the posters.
The posters will be displayed until January 24.
