Banning Books Starts In Hong Kong

The draconian national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong this week clearly means an end to political freedom of speech and assembly that was formerly legally permitted.

As such, Hong Kong libraries have taken at least nine titles written by democracy and Hong Kong independence advocates out of circulation pending a “review” of whether the books run afoul of the law.

The Chinese-language books were written by activist Joshua Wong, independence advocate Horace Chin and Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan. A search of the nine titles on the library website on Saturday found all the titles marked “under review.”

Chin is perhaps the city’s best-known advocate for localism, which argues Hong Kong must foster its unique identity to counter the growing influence of the mainland. Six of his books as part of the “On the Hong Kong City-State” series are no longer available.

Wong first rose to international prominence during the 2014 Hong Kong protests, and his pivotal role in the Umbrella Movement resulted in his inclusion in Time magazine's Most Influential Teens of 2014, and nomination for its 2014 Person of the Year. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

There’s little question the “review” will result in the books no longer being available. Just the start of what’s to come as Beijing makes Hong Kong legally just another Chinese city.