Firstly, it was seized by the Hong Kong police at a street rally at the public open space in Times Square, Causeway Bay on the grounds that the display violated safety regulations, which was, according to the protesters, a trumped up charge.

The various controversies surrounding the statue reportedly increased the number of people attending the annual 4 June vigil in Hong Kong to historical highs.

[3] The Chinese government has tried to distance itself from any discussions about the original statue or about the Tiananmen Square protests, and in the case of the Victims of Communism Memorial it called the building of a replica an "attempt to defame China.

[5] Another work of the sculptor, a relief measuring 6.4 m wide by 3.2 m high entitled Tiananmen Massacre completed in June 2009,[5] joined the statue in Hong Kong in 2010.

[citation needed] On 29 May 2010, Hong Kong police seized a statue and a six-metre-long relief – named 天安門大屠殺 (Tiananmen Massacre) – the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance) erected in Times Square ahead of the 21st anniversary of 6 June Tiananmen Square protest;[6] organisers were arrested for lacking a licence to organise "public entertainment".

A second statue was erected following the anniversary march to commemorate 4 June pro-democracy movement, but was also seized by police citing the same Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department stipulated insurance and approval from registered engineers to guarantee that any object taller than 1.7 metres used on 4 June met safety standards.

[8] Activists refused the pre-conditions, and Alliance Deputy chairman Lee Cheuk-yan threatened that North Point police station, where the pieces were being held, would be surrounded at 6 pm on 3 June by citizens demanding their release.

"[13] Public anger over the seizures, and fears of political repression, were widely cited as a direct cause for the record 150,000 participants (or 113,000 according to the police) to attend 4 June vigil.

[11] Political commentator Michael Chugani said that the police's reason for seizing two replica Goddess of Democracy statues was unconvincing, and that the public had a right to know from how far up the command chain the heavy-handed order came.

"[17] James To decried the "dirty tricks" employed,[18] and said that people were very annoyed that Hong Kong was denying "a very humble sculptor" entry for political reasons.

[18] Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee denied that the government had a blacklist: "The Immigration Department works in accordance with established policies and laws of Hong Kong.

[17] The administrative and planning committee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong convened an emergency meeting for 1 June after receiving an application from the CUHK student union on 29 May to permanently locate a statue on campus.

The staff union said: "As an institution of higher learning dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and truth, the Chinese University should maintain so-called ‘neutrality’ by facing historical facts bravely".

He added that the management team was "immature" and "inexperienced" in handling the incident, and pledged improved communication and dialogue with students on the future of the statue when he takes up the post next month.