This archive report was first published on 4 August 2020.
China's new security law has cast a shadow over Hong Kong's book industry, with publishers reviewing their back catalogues for potentially 'subversive' material and seeking safe havens in Taiwan.
For decades, Hong Kong has been a refuge for intellectuals, free from the authoritarian grip of China's communist leaders. However, the city's status as a publishing haven is at risk of crumbling under the new law.
Beijing has made no secret of its dislike of the books that roll off printing presses in Hong Kong, often painting an unflattering picture of Chinese officials. In 2015, five Hong Kong booksellers vanished, including one from Thailand, before resurfacing in mainland custody making 'confessions'. One skipped bail and went public with a story of kidnapping and lengthy interrogations, and has since fled to Taiwan.
Public and school libraries have already started pulling books deemed inappropriate or legally risky, including those by prominent democracy activists such as Joshua Wong. Breakazine, a quarterly magazine exploring social problems in Hong Kong, cancelled publication of its latest issue and suspended production of the next one, citing 'uncertainties' in the implementation of the new law.
Some publishers are turning to Taiwan, the nearby self-ruled democratic island, as a safe haven for printing fresh titles. Taipei publisher Liu Gi said the team behind the book 'Our Last Evolution' was one of a number working on books about the Hong Kong protests that came knocking on his door in June. Liu, who runs Alone Publishing as a one-man operation, said it signalled an ironic switch for Hong Kong, which previously served as a publishing haven for Taiwanese literature when the island endured decades of authoritarian rule.
"It appears to me that history is repeating itself in a reversed way," Liu told AFP. "When Taiwan was under martial law, books banned here had to be published in Hong Kong and smuggled back to Taiwan. Now the opposite is happening."
