Hong Kong Public Libraries Purge Books on Tiananmen Crackdown

Kari Lindberg
·2 min read
3

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong libraries have purged books about the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, marking the latest step in the city’s campaign against free speech.

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A search of the Hong Kong Public Libraries’ catalog on Tuesday yielded no results when using key words and dates related to the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, including: “Tiananmen,” “June 4th,” “June, 4, 1989” and “revolution.”

Notable books about the crackdown no longer found in the collection include a Chinese-language title, called “People Won’t Forget,” written by 64 Hong Kong journalists and “The Power of Tiananmen” by Chinese sociologist Zhao Dingxin.

The removals come after government auditors last month instructed the city’s public libraries to “step up efforts” to ensure their facilities didn’t carry materials that threatened national security.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee defended the purge at a regular press briefing Tuesday, saying libraries should only stock books that “serve the interests of Hong Kong.”

“These books are accessible by people on private books shelves,” he added. “If they want to buy them, then they can.”

Less than two years ago, the city’s libraries carried some 120 titles about the crackdown, according to a November 2021 Hong Kong Free Press report. Only 26 books were on display at that time, however, with the rest available on request, according to the publication.

Since China imposed a security law on Hong Kong in June 2020, it has mostly been used to target freedom of expression, with about 70% of some 240 arrests made by security police related to alleged speech crimes. Books by prominent pro-democracy activists Jimmy Lai and Joshua Wong, who face charges under the law, have already been pulled from libraries.

After the security law went into effect, authorities also banned an annual candlelight vigil for Tiananmen victims, which for decades had been the only one allowed on Chinese soil. Estimates of the death toll ranged from hundreds to as many as 2,600 after Communist Party leaders sent troops into Tiananmen Square and surrounding streets to violently clear protesters.

Hong Kong ranked 140 out of 180 places in the most recent World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

Last week, local news outlet Ming Pao said it would stop publishing cartoons by the artist Wong Kei-kwan, who used the pen name Zunzi, after he came under government criticism from his satirical comics.

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