Global Lady Liberty HK Debuts at HKUST on New Year's Day
- Project
- EXH-009
- Location
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
- Date
- 1 January 2020
The spirit of democracy lives on. On New Year's Day 2020, a newly created Lady Liberty HK appeared at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
The original Lady Liberty had been placed on Lion Rock on 13 October 2019, then vandalized and destroyed by individuals with opposing political views. But the hope, courage, and defiance she embodied did not disappear with her. A group of overseas students studying in Hong Kong launched a crowdfunding campaign — "HK's Global Lady Liberty" — to build a new statue with international backing. People from 27 countries responded. The campaign raised HK$22,438 against a HK$20,000 target, with 177 donors.
The new statue stands 2 metres tall and was built collaboratively by local students, exchange students, and the original Lady Liberty HK team. Its design echoes the original but carries a deliberate change: rather than standing on tear gas canisters, the new Lady Liberty steps off the globe itself — a posture signifying that Hong Kong's struggle for democracy is now connected to the world, and that the world is standing with it. The flag she carries displays the Hong Kong flag surrounded by the flags of every donor country.
The campaign was initiated by a group of German students in Hong Kong, moved by the original team's work and the effort to bring Lady Liberty to Lion Rock, and determined after her destruction to raise a new statue as an act of defiance and encouragement. The Lady Liberty HK team provided guidance and support throughout the design and production process.
The statue would go on to travel. Years later, a version of the Global Lady Liberty HK would find a permanent home at Massif Central in Frankfurt — unveiled in 2023 before an audience of Hongkongers, German and European parliamentarians, and Taiwanese representatives.