Hong Kong Tiananmen museum to close after legal dispute
A museum in Hong Kong dedicated to the Tiananmen Square protests will close by September because of a legal dispute.
The other tenants of the building it occupies have long wanted it shut down because of safety concerns.
The chairman of the group behind the museum, Albert Ho, told the BBC that protracted litigation was proving too expensive
China bans all reference to the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters on 4 June, 1989.
It comes as there is growing concern among some in Hong Kong that the freedoms given to the territory when it was handed back to China in 1997 by the British are being eroded.
The museum, which opened in 2014, is run by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which also organises the Tiananmen anniversary vigil every year.
It features a statue of the Goddess of Democracy, similar to the one on display at Tiananmen Square during the protest, as well as photos and video clips from the time.
Tenants in the commercial building say the museum violates a regulation that the premise should only be used for offices, in legal documents seen by AFP news agency.
Mr Ho alleges that the complaints are politically motivated. He said the building management records the identities of all visitors which has made some from the mainland reluctant to come.
About half of its 20,000 visitors since it opened have come from mainland China.
"The decision has been made to look for a new location," Mr Ho said. "The other side is very well funded."