The Lithuanian authorities are looking into an incident where a group of mainland Chinese tossed a cross away at the Hill of Crosses, Lithuania's foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said in a tweet on Sunday, Dec. 29.

The Hill of Crosses is a site of Christian pilgrimage located in northern Lithuania.

"Shameful" act of vandalism

Saying that the act was a "shameful, disgraceful act of vandalism", Linkevicus said such a behaviour would not be tolerated.

Shameful, disgraceful act of vandalism currently under investigation by Lithuanian authorities. Such behaviour can’t and won’t be tolerated. https://t.co/LgsxPVIiy2

— Linas Linkevicius (@LinkeviciusL) December 29, 2019

Pro-Hong Kong protests slogans written on cross

Linkevicius was referring to a video circulating on the internet, in which a group of mainland Chinese, who were likely tourists, could be heard talking among themselves after they spotted a particular cross planted in the ground.

The cross could be seen with protest slogans scrawled on it, such as, "Glory to Hong Kong" in English, and "Glory to Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times" in traditional Chinese.

Great is our motherland

A woman, presumably the one filming the video, could be heard saying in the video, "Let's see what we're gonna do."

https://twitter.com/WBYeats1865/status/1210943288338894848

Another woman in the group then picked it up.

The former continued, "Let's see, what's written on (this cross). Who wrote it?"

After reading the protest slogan on the cross, she said, "Get lost, throw it away."

She then laughed, and told the woman who picked up the cross to throw it into the field of crosses.

After the latter did that, a male voice could be heard saying, "Good, okay."

The group then laughed and clapped, while the woman filming the video said, "Great, we did a good deed."

The man continued, "This should be done."

The video then ended after the woman said, "Our motherland is great!"

According to Lonely Planet, it is forbidden to remove a cross at the site.

Are the protesters advocating for independence?

Although the five demands raised by the Hong Kong protesters do not include independence from the central government in Beijing, pro-government supporters are inclined to believe that seeking independence from China is a cause.

This might be because one of the demands is for Hong Kong citizens to choose their own Chief Executive -- a right anti-government supporters say is protected under the Basic Law, which is the city's mini constitution.

However, such a demand is seen by pro-Beijing critics as a rejection of the central government's authority over the city.

After Hong Kong experienced a relative lull in the wake of a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates in the local elections, clashes between riot police and protesters have increased in frequency again over the festive season.

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Top image via @WBYeats1865