Hong Kong Police confiscate Goddess of Democracy statue and quell protest

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HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong police on Saturday confiscated a statue mourning victims of China's 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square and arrested 13 activists, a participant said, in what critics called an escalation in political censorship in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

China's military suppression of pro-democracy student protesters in Beijing, which killed at least hundreds, is still a taboo topic on the mainland. But in Hong Kong, a former British colony that enjoys some Western-style civil liberties, the incident is openly mourned, with tens of thousands usually attending an annual candlelight vigil on the evening of June 4, the anniversary of the crackdown.

However, on Saturday, Hong Kong police officers confiscated a Tiananmen-themed statue and a carving shortly after pro-democracy activists set them up outside a popular mall as part of their annual commemorative activities, TV news footage showed.

The "Goddess of Democracy" statue _ a new replica of a similar statue that was erected in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 protests _ depicts a woman holding a torch and a book labeled with the words, "Liberty," "Democracy" and "Justice." The carving is a large tablet depicting the military action.

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