Book recalled after political remarks found censored
Publisher apologises for removing politically sensitive comments from book's Chinese edition
A translated work that apparently censored remarks on politics - such as Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming comparing the handover of Hongkongers to China to "surrendering Jews to Adolf Hitler's Germany" - will be recalled after its writer cried foul over the unapproved changes.
The book's mainland-funded local publisher, Chung Hwa Book Company, agreed last night to withdraw the Chinese edition of A Concise History of Hong Kong from sale. It also apologised to the history professor who penned the work in English.
I read and approved the first translation, which was faithful to the original English version. Chung Hwa did not show me the other [censored] version, which I most certainly would not have approved
Professor John Carroll, associate dean of the University of Hong Kong's arts faculty, earlier said he was "shocked and disappointed" about the changes.
"I read and approved the first translation, which was faithful to the original English version. Chung Hwa did not show me the other [censored] version, which I most certainly would not have approved," Carroll told the South China Morning Post.
"Regardless of Chung Hwa's intention, it is unethical … to make changes like these without consulting the author," he said.
"Given that considerably more controversial books are often distributed in the mainland, it's hard to see why mine would require so many deletions."
The English edition included remarks on Hong Kong and mainland politics. For instance, Carroll quoted Next Media chairman Jimmy Lai Chee-ying calling former premier Li Peng "a turtle's egg with a zero IQ" and "a national shame". None of these appear in the censored copies.