A towering four-metre statue of a female pro-democracy protester has been toppled shortly after it was erected on top of a popular Kowloon mountain.
Lady Liberty – which depicts a protester in a gas mask, goggles and a helmet – was installed atop Lion Rock over the weekend.
Volunteers hoisted the crowdfunded statue up to the summit of the famous peak under cover of night.
However, photos widely shared on Facebook on Monday morning appear to show the statue in pieces and dubbed in red paint: “My family went up the mountain this morning, it was demolished. Can we not even have a statue?” a Facebook user asked.
The statue has an umbrella in one hand and a flag proclaiming “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” in the other. It was often seen at protests during the summer.
Alex, the 32-year-old protester behind the statue, told AFP that volunteers carried the 80 kilogram artwork up the mountain and that it was intended to be her final resting place: “We had a team of 16 climbing professionals carrying her in two main pieces all the way to the summit while another 16 members carried equipment and supplies… “Lion Rock will be the final resting place of the Lady Liberty of Hong Kong.”
City-wide protests against a now-scrapped extradition bill have entered their 19th week, as wider anger over police misconduct and demands for democracy engulf the movement.
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