COPENHAGEN’S FAMOUS LITTLE Mermaid statue has been found covered with pro-Hong Kong graffiti.
Three lines in red, reading Free Hong-Kong, were painted on the rock in Denmark on which the bronze sits, next to the same text in white.
Police with torches and a dog were seen searching for clues in the area after the pre-dawn vandalism was reported.
The Little Mermaid statue was created in tribute to Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen.
Sitting on a rock at the entrance to Copenhagen harbour since 1913, it has been a popular target for vandals over the years, who have blown the statue off its perch.
In 2010, the statue was the centerpiece of Denmark’s official pavilion at the World Exhibition in Shanghai for a six-month period.
A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Under the framework of “one country, two systems,” the city enjoys greater democratic rights than those on the mainland, but protesters say those freedoms have been steadily eroding under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Universal suffrage is among the five demands protesters are advocating, along with an independent investigation into alleged police brutality.
The protesters are demanding fully democratic elections for Hong Kong’s leader and legislature and an investigation into police use of force to suppress their demonstrations.
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