Missing bookseller saga will not stop banned works appearing at Hong Kong fair, organiser says
City’s press freedom guarantees availability of sensitive political works at annual event expected to attract a million visitors
The disappearance of the five booksellers would not affect the display of “banned” publications at this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair as the city enjoyed press freedom, the organiser said on Tuesday.
Benjamin Chau Kai-Leung, acting executive director of the Trade Development Council, assured potential visitors to the annual event that they would still be able to find sensitive political books at the one-week fair, which opens on July 20.
Books banned on mainland China have always been popular items among those travelling to the fair from across the border, who account for roughly 9 per cent of overall visitors. Countless such publications are confiscated at border checkpoints every year over the course of the week.
“Hong Kong is a free and open society,” Chau said, “No matter what political background the publishers may have, we allow their books to be exhibited [at the fair] ... as long as their contents comply with Hong Kong laws and meet the classification requirements”.
