By: Anonymous
Edited By: Alice Weldon
The author of this article wishes to remain anonymous for personal safety concerns.
On September 11, a bronze bust of the deceased Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, was officially installed at the University of Galway in Ireland. The bronze bust, created by Czech artist Marie Šeborová, was commissioned by Art for Human Rights and Human Rights In China (HRIC).
Photo from University of Galway official website
Liu Xiaobo, a well-known Chinese writer and human rights activist, is also known as one of the drafters of Charter 08 – a document modeled after the Czech Charter 77—which outlined a vision for a democratic China. Liu was repeatedly arrested and detained by the Chinese government for his activities promoting democracy and human rights in China. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but was unable to receive it before his death in prison in 2017. He was the second laureate , after Carl von Ossietzky of Nazi Germany, to die in prison without receiving the prize.
One of the principals involved in this donation, Mr. Fengsuo Zhou, Executive Director of HRIC, previously told the media that he had contacted several top universities in the U.S. and the UK to discuss the installation of the bust but encountered unexpected difficulties. After many rejections, the bust eventually landed in Galway, Ireland. Mr. Zhou was a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square movement and a close friend of Liu Xiaobo.
To understand why the bust was rejected by some U.S. universities, The SAIS Observer interviewed Mr. Zhou.
In 2019, Mr. Zhou, Liu Xia, Liu Xiaobo’s widow, and several other Chinese democracy activists asked Professor Andrew Nathan, a prominent sinologist at Columbia University, to propose donating a bust of Liu Xiaobo to Columbia’s then-President Lee C. Bollinger. The request was forwarded by the President’s Office to the department responsible for managing the university’s art collection.The head of this department discussed the matter with the Starr East Asian Library, which eventually rejected the offer, stating that they “do not accept busts or statues that represent religious or political figures.” The department head also added that other than the Starr Library, they did not identify any places on campus where this bust could be located. Mr. Zhou noted that, just before proposing the donation of Liu Xiabobo’s bust, Columbia University had erected a statue of Václav Havel.
“Columbia University’s rejection of the bust is frustrating”, Mr. Zhou said. Liu Xiaobo was a visiting scholar at Columbia from March to May 1989, before returning to China after the Tiananmen movement broke out.
Mr. Zhou also discussed the matter with another top Ivy League university about placing the bust but faced similar rejection. The university initially accepted the offer but then delayed for five years and suddenly canceled the partnership shortly before the official installation ceremony. Mr. Zhou said the university asked them to “remain anonymous and low-profile, enter through the back door, and exit through the back door, without conducting any activities.” Even when Mr. Zhou agreed to the university’s request, he was eventually informed that the collaboration had been canceled. The reason given was that the university wished to “protect the safety of its students and scholars” and to continue its ongoing partnership program in China.
Unlike these top Ivy League universities, Galway University issued a high-profile statement after accepting Liu’s bust. The Interim President of the University of Galway himself presided over the unveiling of the bronze bust, stating: “The dedication of the bust of Liu Xiaobo on our Galway University campus is in keeping with the value that our community places on the pursuit of human rights. It is also symbolic of our efforts to recognise those who have gone before us in this endeavor, and I hope it acts as a constant source of inspiration to all those who are engaged with the Irish Centre for Human Rights, and our wider student, staff, research and alumni community.”
Barbora Bukovská, human rights attorney and Senior Director for law and policy at ARTICLE 19, commented that by dedicating this bust, Galway University sends a clear message: it will not be silenced nor shy away from its commitment to academic freedom and the pursuit of democracy and human rights. This speaks volumes about the values upheld by this institution.
Cases of Chinese political dissidents and human rights activists being marginalized within elite U.S. universities are not uncommon. In 2020, the Harvard Crimson reported that senior Harvard administrators canceled an event by Teng Biao, a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer, out of concern for pressure from Beijing.
Outside of universities, Chinese political dissidents have often faced transnational repression from the Chinese government. Before heading to Galway University for the unveiling of Liu Xiaobo’s bust, Zhou Fengsuo received an award and gave a speech at The Hist in Trinity College Dublin. In his speech, he mentioned being beaten by thugs while protesting for Chinese human rights in San Francisco. His LinkedIn account was blocked due to pressure from the Chinese government, and his Zoom account had been suspended for organizing online seminars commemorating the Tiananmen movement. Many people even avoid him in private occasions for fear of being associated with him.
Mr. Zhou thinks that many universities in Western democracies are fearful of Beijing and self-censor on important topics, lured by significant ties of interest. Therefore, he attached great importance to the cooperation with Galway University and did not announce the news to the public until all details and schedules had been finalized. “This permanent installation of Liu Xiaobo’s bust at the University of Galway is an important breakthrough in higher education institutions”, he said.
As Kundera said: “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” Mr. Zhou emphasized: “The significance of this bust is that while Beijing is trying to destroy people’s memories of Liu Xiaobo, we need to remember him.” Currently, Galway is the only place in the world where a bust of Liu Xiaobo has been erected in a university, with another bust located in a gallery in Prague, Czech Republic.
The bust’s placement at Galway University is seen as a groundbreaking step by Chinese human rights activists to honor Liu Xiaobo’s legacy overseas, despite the difficulties and obstacles they have faced. Mr. Zhou concluded by telling The SAIS Observer, “We will continue to look for places willing to accept Liu Xiaobo’s bust. Galway University’s action is very touching, and this is the attitude that a university in a democratic country should have.”