Hong Kong Book Fair exhibitors told to remove certain titles after ‘complaints’
Hong Kong Free Press
The organiser of the 2024 Hong Kong Book Fair has informed at least two exhibitors not to sell certain book titles at the fair, citing “complaints.”
Leanne Liu of Boundary Bookstore told HKFP that they were informed on Thursday and Friday by staff at the organising Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), that three titles should not be on sale at their booth.
“The staff cited complaints they received and had to handle the issue, therefore they suggested taking the three titles off the shelves,” Liu said in Cantonese on Friday. “They said if we take no action, then we violate regulations of the book fair.”
Liu said she was informed by two HKTDC staff on Friday that two titles – The Last Faith by Hong Kong veteran reporter Allan Au, and another one about stories of Hong Kong children who emigrated, should not be on sale.
“The staff said the books carry ‘sensitive content’,” Liu said, but when she asked why they were sensitive, staff refused to disclose more information.
The manager said another staffer at the book store was also informed by two HKTDC staff that a new novel written by Liu Wai-Tong, a Taiwan-based Hong Kong poet, should be moved away from their shelves. The title is a science fiction book.
Another exhibitor, who refused to offer the name of their store, told HKFP on Friday that they were also told by staff at HKDCT on Thursday and Friday to remove certain titles from their shelves: “The staff said they received complaints… we don’t want to reveal names of the titles, which might encourage more complaints, ” the person in charge of the booth said in Cantonese. They refused to offer names.
“We removed the books… However, there are other booths who tried hard to negotiate with the HKTDC after they were told to remove some titles, and they finally kept the books on their shelves.”
“As far as we know, these titles are still on sale in quite a few book stores in Hong Kong,” the person in charge of the booth told HKFP. “[I]t’s like HKTDC just followed some administrative procedures – someone reported some titles to be sensitive, and then they take some action. “
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HKFP has reached out to the HKTDC for a response.
A person in charge of an independent bookstore told HKFP that their kiosk had been selling Liu Wai-tong’s new novel and Au’s The Last Faith too. “We also sold the book about Hong Kong children emigrating overseas last year, when the book was published,” the person said, who requested to remain anonymous.
As of Friday evening, Au’s book remained available elsewhere at the fair.
Book fair regualtions
Prior to the opening of the 2024 Hong Kong Book Fair, Sophia Chong, the deputy executive director of the HKTDC, said in late June that all exhibitors at the annual fair should comply with the Beijing-imposed national security law and the city’s homegrown security law. Neither mention specific book titles, and the government has refused to disclose a list of books it pulled from libraries.
At the time, Chong did not respond directly as to whether the HKTDC had “a list of banned titles” that would be censored.
The HKTDC has included terms related to national security in the book fair’s rules and regulations, which stipulate that exhibitors and displayed items must conform to “regulations [in] relation to Hong Kong National Security Law and Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.”
According to the regulations, the HKTDC has the right to terminate the exhibitor’s rights to exhibit “if the Exhibitor is found to have committed any act which, in the opinion of the Organiser, might prejudice or damage the reputation and/or image of Hong Kong, its industries, the fair or the Organiser.”
“Areas of concern include but [are] not limited to Hong Kong National Security Law, Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, product safety and respect for intellectual property rights (IPR), labour rights, environmental laws, trade description and trade practices laws…” the regulations read.
Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of to up to 16 days, and suspects’ access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city’s opposition-free legislature.
The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and “regressive.” Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to “close loopholes” after the 2019 protests and unrest.
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