Axel Springer Freedom Foundation Brings Replica of Pillar of Shame to Berlin for Public Art Installation

Axel Springer Freedom Foundation Brings Replica of Pillar of Shame to Berlin for Public Art Installation

(IN BRIEF) The Axel Springer Freedom Foundation and Danish artist Jens Galschiøt have installed a replica of the Pillar of Shame in Berlin to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre in China. The monument, which originally stood outside the University of Hong Kong for 24 years, was taken down in 2021. The public art installation will run until the end of June and is open to the public. The opening ceremony of the event will take place on May 22 and feature speeches from the artist and several dissidents, including Haiyuer Kuerban, Prof. Dr. Jhy-Wey Shieh, Ray Wong, and Tenzyn Zöchbauer. Axel Springer Freedom Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes the values of a free, democratic, and pluralistic society.

(PRESS RELEASE) BERLIN, 3-May-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Axel Springer SE, Europe’s largest digital publishing house, announces that the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation, in collaboration with Danish artist Jens Galschiøt, has installed a replica of the Pillar of Shame in Berlin to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre in China. The monument, which originally stood outside the University of Hong Kong for 24 years, was taken down in 2021, and all sites that remembered the protests were wiped out.

The opening ceremony of the public art installation will take place on May 22 at the forecourt of the Axel Springer building, where the replica is installed. The event will be open to the public and will feature speeches from the artist Jens Galschiøt and several dissidents, including Haiyuer Kuerban, head of the Berlin office of the World Uyghur Congress, Prof. Dr. Jhy-Wey Shieh, representative of Taiwan in Germany, Ray Wong, co-founder of Germany’s Freedom for Hong Kong association, and Tenzyn Zöchbauer, Director of Tibet Initiative Deutschland e.V.

Immediately following the opening ceremony, a panel discussion will take place on related topics, which will be available via livestream. Both events will be conducted in English.

The replica of the Pillar of Shame will be on display until the end of June and is open to the public. The monument is an exact replica of the original and stands eight-meters tall.

Axel Springer Freedom Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes the values of a free, democratic, and pluralistic society. The foundation aims to promote and protect press freedom, support independent journalism, and advocate for human rights and democracy.

Antje Schippmann, founder and director of the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation commented, “As the Freedom Foundation, our objective is to work together with dissidents to make visible what authoritarian states want to censor and ban. That is why we are happy to be exhibiting the Pillar of Shame—a symbol of the fragility of freedom that was dismantled under pressure from the Chinese government—to as many people as possible before the Axel Springer headquarters in Berlin.”

Co-founder and co-director Katharina Neubert added, “We invite the public to join us on May 22 to send out a clear message honoring the tireless efforts of all those in Hong Kong and elsewhere fighting for freedom.”

Jens Galschiøt: “The Pillar of Shame commemorates the history and the human rights abuses that have been committed in Hong Kong. Exhibiting its replica in Berlin sends out a signal of support to protest movements and democratic forces that stand up against totalitarian systems all over the world.”

About the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation:

The non-profit organization Axel Springer Freedom Foundation supports dissidents, artists, media players and projects in authoritarian countries that stand up for freedom, human rights and democracy. It not only provides funding, but also organizes events with the public can decision-makers to exchange ideas and information. In this way, the NGO continues the tradition of the company founder, whose commitment to freedom motivated his personal and entrepreneurial activities at all times. Freedom remains a fundamental value for Axel Springer as a company to the present day.

More information and ways you can actively support the Freedom Foundation can be found on freedom.axelspringer.com.

Media contact:

Jan Bauer
Senior PR Manager
jan.bauer@axelspringer.de
+49 30 2591 77622

SOURCE: Axel Springer SE