On the evening of May 29, hundreds of students at eight Beijing art colleges, including the Central Academy of Fine Arts, transported separate pieces of the "Goddess of Democracy" plaster statue by tricycle to Tian'anmen Square. On the north side of the Square, south of where the national flag flew, they began erecting the statue. They worked for 16 hours. Finally, at noon on the 30th, the statue of the Goddess of Democracy, 8 meters high and more than 2 meters across, was completed. The statue was partly inspired by the Statue of Liberty in the US; the Goddess of Democracy faced the huge portrait of Mao Zedong on Tian'anmen Gate Tower, symbolizing the opposition between democracy and autocracy.

Student representatives from the eight art colleges held an onsite unveiling ceremony, in which they read the Declaration of the Goddess of Democracy. The full text is as follows:

"Today, in the People's Square, a statue of the people stands tall. She is the 'Goddess of Democracy'. We dedicate her to the warriors in the hunger strike group, to all comrades-in-arms in the Square, to the millions of college students across the country, and to all people in Beijing, China, and the world who support our democratic struggle.

It has been too long, Goddess of Democracy. 70 years ago, our predecessors called your name loudly. Will we have to wait another 70 years for you? Goddess of Democracy, you symbolize all the people desire as they live under the oppression of tyranny. The Goddess of Democracy has become the symbol of democracy for the students in the Square and hundreds of millions of people. Goddess of Democracy, you are the hope of saving the Chinese nation. Goddess of Democracy, you are the soul of the 1989 Chinese democracy tide. Today, you solemnly stand in the Square, declaring to the world that a new moment has begun in the great rise of the Chinese democratic movement… We firmly believe that when true democracy arrives, we will certainly return to the Square and build a majestic, tall statue that is the God of eternal democracy. This day will come. The Chinese people hold the Goddess of Democracy in our hearts forever."

The opening ceremony that day attracted tens of thousands of onlookers. Students from the Central Conservatory of Music and other schools held live performances and sang songs such as "Blood-stained Glory". Then everyone in the Square sang "The Internationale". After the ceremony, the student patrol teams began to guard the statue of the Goddess.

At that time, the Beijing Tian'anmen Management Office issued a statement, saying that Tian'anmen Square was an important place for political gatherings and welcoming activities in China, so it was firmly opposed to the Goddess of Freedom statue being placed there. Just a few days later, the statue was destroyed by army troops who had entered the Square.

References: Zhang Wanshu, "The Big Bang of History: A Complete Record of the June 4th Incident"; Feng Congde, "A Tiananmen Journal"; "The Tiananmen Papers"