Copenhagen's famed Little Mermaid statue was found doused with pro-Hong Kong graffiti early Monday.
Three lines in red, reading “Free Hong Kong” were painted on the rock on which the bronze sits, next to the same text written smaller in white.
Police were seen searching for clues in the the area with flashlights and a dog after the pre-dawn vandalism was reported. No one has been apprehended,
The Little Mermaid statue with graffiti, in Copenhagen on Monday, January 13, 2020. Copenhagen's famed Little Mermaid statue was found doused with graffiti early Monday with three lines in red, reading “Free Hong-Kong” scribbled on the rock on which the bronze sits, next to the same text in white. (Thomas SjoerupRitzau Scanpix via AP)
The Little Mermaid was created in tribute to the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Sitting on a rock at the entrance of the Copenhagen harbor since 1913, she has been a popular target for vandals, who have blown her off her perch, beheaded her and painted her.
In 2010, the statue was the centerpiece of Denmark's official pavilion at the World Exhibition in Shanghai for a six-month period.