PEN America has released a new report that raises concerns over the rights of authors, activists and academics working in Hong Kong.
The Writing on the Wall: Disappeared Booksellers and Free Expression in Hong Kong report, which was released over the weekend at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, explores the abduction of five Hong Kong booksellers by Chinese authorities late last year. Here is more from the press release:
For decades, “risky” books–books that would be banned on the mainland but could be produced in the Hong Kong–were available to mainland residents who travelled to the city to reach beyond censorship. But according to publishers, authors, lawyers, government officials, and others interviewed for the report, the abduction undermined Hong Kong residents’ expectation of safety under the “one country, two systems” framework established when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control in 1997. Since the incident, the report shows, multiple bookstores and publishing houses have closed, authors have pulled works from publication, printers have refused service to books on sensitive topics, and the mainland Chinese audience at popular literary events has dwindled.