Students walking next to the iconic lion statue in front of the international HSBC Bank branch that was painted with red paint in Hong Kong, on FRiday (Jan 3). The iconic bronze lions that have "guarded" the HSBC head office in Hong Kong since the 1930s were awaiting repairs after being vandalised and set alight during a protest. - AP
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 (Jan 3), awaiting repairs after being vandalised and set alight during a chaotic first protest of the year.
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.
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