{"id":775836,"date":"2020-01-03T12:09:47","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T12:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2020\/01\/03\/pics-iconic-hsbc-bronze-lions-vandalized-in-hong-kong-protests\/"},"modified":"2020-01-03T12:09:47","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T12:09:47","slug":"pics-iconic-hsbc-bronze-lions-vandalized-in-hong-kong-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/01\/03\/pics-iconic-hsbc-bronze-lions-vandalized-in-hong-kong-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"PICS: Iconic HSBC bronze lions vandalized in Hong Kong protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Students walk next to the iconic lion statue in front of the international HSBC Bank branch that was painted with red paint. Picture: Vincent Yu\/AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Hong Kong – The iconic bronze lions that have “guarded” the HSBC head office in Hong Kong since the 1930s were covered-up by large boxes on Friday, awaiting repairs after being vandalized and set alight during a chaotic first protest of the year.<\/p>\n

The 85-year-old pair of lions once stood outside the bank’s headquarters in Shanghai in the 1920s, where they were affectionately nicknamed Stephen and Stitt after the bank’s managers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“It’s so sad. The lions have withstood the Japanese occupation, but not this. It makes me want to cry,” said Caroline Collins, a 46-year-old British woman who has lived in Hong Kong her whole life. <\/p>\n

HSBC became the target of anti-government demonstrators after the bank froze an account being used by a group called Spark Alliance, who claim to help cover the legal costs of protesters under arrest.<\/p>\n

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\n The lion statue in front of the international HSBC Bank branch is covered with red paint. A huge crowd gathered in Hong Kong for an annual New Year’s Day protest march as the months-long pro-democracy movement extends into 2020. Picture: Vincent Yu\/AP
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Police arrested three men and one woman, aged between 17 and 50, before the Christmas holiday, following an in-depth investigation into the group. <\/p>\n

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\n Protestors vandalize a lion statue in front of the HSBC branch in Hong Kong on January 1, 2020. Picture: Lee Jin-man\/AP
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The investigation led to assets worth 70 million Hong Kong dollars (9 million US\u00a0dollars)\u00a0being frozen, and 130,000 dollars in cash seized.<\/p>\n

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\n A worker cleans the iconic lion statue in front of the international HSBC Bank branch that was daubed with red paint on New Year’s Day. Picture: Vincent Yu\/AP
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Police also confiscated protective equipment, similar to what has become standard attire at the protests, and weapons such as shooting arrows and laser pens.<\/p>\n

Protesters, lawmakers and other pro-democracy activists have expressed support for the group on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.<\/p>\n

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