LGBT children’s book row, and other controversies, the only time Hong Kong pays attention to libraries (or reading)
Alice Wu says the government is only inviting more complaints by caving in to an anti-gay-rights group, at a time when young people are reading less and library visits are falling
In support of keeping such books in circulation four years ago, the LCSD said: “The Collection Development Board of the Hong Kong Public Libraries has reviewed the case and considered it not deviating from the libraries’ collection development policy. It was considered that the book [sic] does not encourage or promote any particular family relationship, or carry obscene or contents of a violent nature, and the book should remain in circulation in the libraries.”
Then, the department defended making the books available by citing its adherence to the Unesco Public Library Manifesto in support of balanced and diverse collections of books, and its commitment to the principle of freedom of expression.
How can the department now claim it is adhering to the Unesco manifesto or, worst of all, that it cares about freedom of expression? This time, it actually said – in an effort to shoot itself in the foot – that the panel made the decision to move the books to the closed stacks even though it felt seven of the titles were “neutral without promoting homosexual or single-sex marriage”.