{
  "id": 4789025,
  "title": "Danish sculptor writes to Hong Kong court asking for return of Tiananmen crackdown monument",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/danish-sculptor-writes-to-hong-kong-court-asking-for-return-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-01T05:03:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hong Kong Free Press",
    "slug": "hong-kong-free-press-hongkongfp",
    "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/09/01/danish-sculptor-writes-to-hong-kong-court-asking-for-return-of-tiananmen-crackdown-monument/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt has penned a letter to a Hong Kong court, requesting the return of his Tiananmen Square monument, the Pillar of Shame. The eight-meter-tall statue, which once stood on the University of Hong Kong campus for over two decades, was removed in 2021 following a national security conviction of activists involved in an annual vigil. The court had previously ordered the confiscation of the sculpture, which was among the evidence in the case. Galschiøt, in his letter, claims ownership of the Pillar of Shame and asks for its return, stating that he will not travel to Hong Kong personally but will appoint professionals to transport the artwork back to Denmark.",
  "summary": "A Danish sculptor has written to a Hong Kong court asking for the return of his statue commemorating China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, following the national security conviction of a group behind the city’s annual vigil mourning the incident. Jens Galschiøt, the artist behind the Pillar of Shame monument that stood on the University of Hong […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "Shein shares slide 10% in long-awaited Hong Kong trading debut",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/shein-shares-slide-10-in-long-awaited-hong-kong-trading-debut-4768975",
        "published": "2026-09-01T01:41:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Shein shares slide 10% in long-awaited Hong Kong trading debut",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/shein-shares-slide-10-in-long-awaited-hong-kong-trading-debut-4767514",
        "published": "2026-09-01T01:56:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
        "title": "Danish sculptor writes to Hong Kong court asking for return of Tiananmen crackdown monument",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/danish-sculptor-writes-to-hong-kong-court-asking-for-return-of-4790187",
        "published": "2026-09-01T05:03:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Hua Liebing to lead discipline inspection group in Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/hua-liebing-to-lead-discipline-inspection-group-in-hong-kong-and",
        "published": "2026-09-01T06:21:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}