The
Goddess of Democracy, also known as the
Goddess of Democracy and Freedom, the
Spirit of Democracy, and the
Goddess of Liberty (自由女神;
zìyóu nǚshén), was a 10-meter-tall (33 ft) statue created during the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The statue was constructed in only four days out of
foam and
papier-mâché over a metal
armature. The constructors decided to make the statue as large as possible to try to dissuade the government from dismantling it: the government would either have to destroy the statue—an action which would potentially fuel further criticism of its policies—or leave it standing. Nevertheless, the statue was destroyed on June 4, 1989, by
soldiers clearing the protesters from Tiananmen square. Since its destruction, numerous replicas and memorials have been erected around the world, including in
Hong Kong and
Washington DC.