Hong Kong’s annual book fair opened on Wednesday, with several publishers of political books barred from the fair and others told to be careful about what they exhibited.
The fair’s main organizer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said it did not screen the books for sale at the fair. But Hong Kong authorities have tightened controls on free speech and arrested dozens of pro-democracy activists after a tough national security law came into effect in 2020, and the council stressed that exhibitors must comply with the law.
Independent publisher Hillway Culture, which publishes books on Hong Kong and political events, was among those not allowed to participate. One of a Kind, which has published several books about 2019 protests in the city, was another.
Publishers are having a tough time because of the pandemic’s impact on the city’s economy and concerns over censorship and rejection of independent publishers, said Kaying Wong, a visiting curator at The House of Hong Kong Literature, the city’s largest literary organization.
“It is definitely not an easy task for us to set up a booth at the book fair and be selected (to exhibit),” Wong said.
The book fair is one of the largest in Asia. In recent years, it was known for exhibiting a variety of books, including politically sensitive ones and those banned in communist-ruled mainland China.
In 2020, the city postponed the fair several times due to the pandemic. The event was finally held in person last June after a year’s hiatus. This year’s book fair runs from Wednesday to Tuesday, July 26.
Novelist Gabriel Tsang, who works with publisher Spicy Fish Cultural Production Limited, said writers need to consider whether they can be published in the current environment.
“I guess many writers have their own intentions … and they have to think a lot about whether they can get works published. They can use some allegory or use a lot of rhetorical skills instead of directly expressing , what they originally wanted to express,” he said.
Last year, complaints were filed against Hillway Culture, one of the publishers rejected this year, for exhibiting politically sensitive books that could be seen as violating the National Security Act.
“Last year we had (exhibited) political books at the book fair and so was another publisher that was banned,” said Raymond Yeung, Hillway Culture’s founder. He was one of the few publishers allowed to exhibit political books about Hong Kong at last year’s book fair.
Yeung tried to set up an independent book fair as an alternative to the main fair earlier this month, but had to cancel it after the landlord of the venue accused Hillway of breaching its lease by subletting its space to other publishers.
Authorities should be clearer and more transparent about what types of activities are allowed, said Hui Ching, research director of the policy think tank Hong Kong Zhi Ming Institute.
“If there is no transparency, it is reasonable for citizens to suspect their rights have been taken away,” Hui said.
Visitors still value the fair as an opportunity to browse and purchase a wide variety of books.
“I read as a habit, and today I came to look for some Chinese novels and short stories that I am interested in,” said Grace Ng, a 22-year-old university student who visited the fair with her boyfriend.
Ng usually attends the annual fair and said this year’s seemed somewhat subdued.
“It’s not as crowded now as it was before the pandemic,” she said.
