The City University of Hong Kong will set up a committee to look into the recent damage to the campus “democracy wall” message board as well as a pro-democracy statue.
On Tuesday, a man ripped off anti-extradition bill messages on the university’s message board, and toppled the nearby Goddess of Democracy statue.
The man wearing a black t-shirt tried to leave but was apprehended by others. He was later arrested by the police on suspicion of criminal damage.
The man was a mainland Chinese graduate of the university, according to unnamed sources cited in a Sing Tao Daily report.
The City University said on Thursday that said it was concerned about the incident and will investigate. The announcement was issued by Vice-President (Student Affairs) Horace Ip and Vice-President (Administration) Sunny Lee, saying that formal complaints had been received.
“The University once again urges staff, students and members of all sectors to exercise restraint and hold rational discussions,” it said.
The university’s student union also condemned the damage.
The statue has since been erected again and the union said it has contacted the artist who made the statue in the hopes of repairing it.
【城大民主女神像遭破壞】警方拘捕一名男子，涉嫌在城大校園內破壞民主女神像，列作刑事毀壞案處理。城大傳訊及公關處表示，一名男子傍晚在城大校園民主牆附近破壞牆上的海報及標語，以及在旁的民主女神像，校方即時報警求助。警方到場後拘捕該名男子，並帶返警署調查，校方正進一步了解事件。根據城大校園電視媒體社交專頁「城市廣播」的片段，一名男子撕毀民主牆海報及推倒民主女神像，女神像倒地損毀，現場地上遺留海報和碎片，民主牆一帶事後圍封。警方到場後，將黑布蒙頭的涉事男子帶走。社交專頁表示，涉事男子年約20歲，操普通話。 #香港電台#城市大學#民主女神像
Posted by 香港電台視像新聞 RTHK VNEWS on Tuesday, 23 July 2019
“The Goddess of Democracy is the student union’s property, and the democracy wall is run by the student union. We will seek responsibility over the damage,” the student union said in a statement.
“Although the statue was damaged, the spirit of democracy and freedom will not die,” it added.
The extradition bill would allow the city to handle case-by-case fugitive transfers to jurisdictions with no prior arrangements, including China. Critics have said residents would be at risk of extradition to the mainland, which lacks human rights protections. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has declared the bill “dead,” but did not enact any mechanism to withdraw it.
Hong Kong protesters have made five demands during recent protests against the government. The demands include a complete withdrawal of the now-suspended bill, a retraction of the “riot” characterisation of the June 12 protests, an independent investigation into police behaviour and an unconditional release of all arrested protesters. They also called for a disbanding of the legislature and implementation of universal suffrage.
