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Thomas and Themis

R9353013L (Ricoh GX200)

Thomas, the earlier 19-century chief manager of the HSBC, aka its "Great Architect"; Themis, the Greek goddess of Justice and Law and adviser to Zeus -- the two have been facing one another for almost a century on the Statute Square.  If they were given a human heart, could they have had a fell for each other?

The blind-folded Themis statue surmounting the neo-classical building, which was once the British Hong Kong Supreme Court building, then the Legislative Council building and is soon to become the SAR's Court of  Final Appeal building, is said to be a replica of the one on the Old Bailey of London.

The statute of Thomas, or Sir Thomas Jackson from Ireland to be exact, is one of the several statutes originally erected on the Statute Square (or known as Queen's Statute Square in Chinese).  The Queen Vic's statute was relocated to the Victoria Park after the WWII, during which the Japanese occupation force removed the many iron statutes to Japan pending melting by the imperial army.

With the Legislative Council moving to the new government complex, the Statute Square returns to its old-time quietness.  The protesters and demonstrators are making their way to the new complex covering the government secretariat, the Chief Executive Office and the Legislative Council. It takes a genius to think up such a premium venue for the mass to air their grievances.

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