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Overview
This is a miniature of the four-metre Lady Liberty Hong Kong statue originally designed by users of the LIHKG forum and created using crowd-sourced funds during the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Her outfit is inspired by the standard dress of Hong Kong protesters, who have often worn yellow helmets, goggles and gas masks during demonstrations.
The miniature was created by an anonymous New Zealand activist using a 3D printer and design files released to the public by the original designers based in Hong Kong. The activist subsequently photographed the figurine outside various iconic places around Wellington, including the Beehive (see object GH 025665, Te Papa Collection), before sharing the photographs online to convey New Zealand-based support for the Hong Kong protest movement.
Lady Liberty Hong Kong
Designed by users from the LIHKG forum, the original Lady Liberty Hong Kong was a four-metre statue created in August 2019 during the Hong Kong protests. The statue was publicly displayed in multiple locations before being hauled to the top of Lion Rock, Kowloon, which was intended as the statue's ‘final resting place’. The next day, however, the statue was vandalised and removed by unknown assailants.
Hong Kong protest movement and Aotearoa
The Hong Kong protests were originally incited by the proposed Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. Also known as the Hong Kong Extradition Bill, the proposed legislation would have enabled Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China to face trial. The protest movement subsequently evolved and continued through much of the first half of 2020, though the Extradition Bill was withdrawn in October 2019. On 30 June 2020, the Chinese legislature approved the controversial National Security Law, bypassing Hong Kong’s own elected legislative council. This law effectively outlawed activities perceived as dissenting or secessionist, including the possession of protest banners and flags carrying slogans associated with the protest movement such as ‘Free Hong Kong/Revolution of our Times’.
The Hong Kong protests have garnered significant international attention due to Hong Kong’s importance to the global economy and the political aspects of China’s increasing prominence as a global player. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the protests have prompted wide-ranging debates, including those relating to democracy and freedom of speech, New Zealand’s relationship to China and the government’s obligations to those connected to Hong Kong but based here, among them international students and temporary visa holders, as well as citizens and permanent residents with familial and cultural links to Hong Kong.