Hong Kong's iconic HSBC lion statues caught in protest cross hairs

The lions were confiscated by Japanese during World War II and shipped to Japan to be melted down. They were rescued in 1945 from Osaka dockyard and restored to their former positions following year

1578001176-8271

Experts in Hong Kong could be facing a dilemma unseen in more than six months of protests: How to clean a pair of iconic bronze lion statues that have stood guard over HSBC Holdings’ main offices for decades as one of the city’s foremost symbols of colonial-era largess.

Demonstrators defaced the lions, nicknamed “Stephen” and “Stitt,” Wednesday during a mass march intended to show Beijing they would continue to fight its grip into the new year. They splashed the statues with red and black spray paint that depicted bleeding from the eyes, and a phrase in Chinese saying HSBC had been dyed the red of China. At least one statue was set ablaze. Workers struggled to scrub them clean Thursday morning.

The lions’ visages adorn local bank notes issued by HSBC and are a remaining symbol of colonial rule and cultural heritage in the former British outpost. “This is terrible! Worse than even a foreign invasion,” one woman said as she...read more

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Budget 2019 fails to address real estate sector's most pressing concerns

Image
Experts say the govt missed the bus on ITC benefit under GST, industry status and single-window project clearance Budget news : Union Budget 2019-20 has evoked mixed reactions from the real estate sector, with the push for affordable housing and infrastructure, along with the promotion of rental housing, being lauded. However, builders and developers are miffed that the Budget failed to address long-standing expectations regarding industry status for the sector, single-window clearance and reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST). ANAROCK Property Consultants Chairman Anuj Puri said, "As far as real estate is concerned, the Budget had a few hits and several misses." Puri said that from the real estate perspective, the Budget did not meet many expectations, as it failed to address the sector's most pressing concerns. He added that the sector might not see consumers and investors return to the market in sufficient numbers, barring in... read more
Read more

300 sixes and counting: Gayle achieves another swashbuckling feat in IPL

Image
South Africa's AB de Villiers (192 sixes) is the second batsman on the list of most number of sixes Sports News :  Chris Gayle, the West Indies left-handed batsman on Saturday became the first player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to smash over 300 sixes in the tournament as he scored a quickfire knock of 40 runs for his team Kings XI Punjab against the Mumbai Indians. Gayle struck four sixes during his 24-ball knock to set up a successful run chase for Punjab who were able to defeat Mumbai Indians by eight wickets. The left-hander as a result of his four sixes took his sixes count to 302 in 114 innings in the IPL. Gayle hit two back-to-back sixes against Mumbai Indians pacer Mitchell McClenaghan to achieve this feat at Mohali. → Read our full coverage on  IPL 2019  ← South Africa's AB de Villiers is the second batsman on the list of most number of sixes. He has a total of 192 sixes in 131 IPL innings whereas Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni is on the...
Read more

Global Covid cases cross grim milestone of 300 mn; deaths over 5.47 mn

Image
Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has surpassed the grim milestone of 300 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.47 million Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has surpassed the grim milestone of 300 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.47 million and vaccinations to over 9.33 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Friday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 300,095,481 and 5,472,039, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,336,622,344. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of... read more
Read more