Blowing Water | Time to out LGBT-themed books in Hong Kong to fight prejudice and help children learn

Luisa Tam says local officials want the city to be seen as modern and culturally diverse, but in many areas it falls short

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The decision by Hong Kong library bosses to pull books from local shelves reflected their agreement with the anti-gay activists’ belief. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:48pm, 2 Jul 2018Updated: 5:48pm, 3 Jul 2018

We should thank all those anti-gay activists for having successfully lobbied the government to hide away 10 children’s books with LGBT themes. Had they not, we would never have found out about the existence of such publications in our local public libraries.

After these titles were consigned to closed stacks – and are now available only on request – the activists went one step further by demanding similar treatment of gay-themed books at the Hong Kong Book Fair to be held later this month. Again, let’s give a round of applause for their relentless efforts, as the issue has now attracted international attention.

But the government’s lamentable behaviour has been somewhat puzzling. The library bosses’ decision to pull the books from the shelves reflected their agreement with the anti-gay activists’ belief that these titles are unsuitable for young minds. So why did they buy them in the first place?

Officials want Hong Kong to be seen as a modern and culturally diverse city, but in many ways, especially in the areas of LGBT rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity, it lags way behind the times. And it goes to show the government has been paying lip service all along when it comes to protecting minority rights.

Book covers of the stories anti-gay activists in Hong Kong are seeking to ban from local libraries. Source: Facebook

We need more people like the book fair’s deputy executive director, Benjamin Chau Kai-leung, who responded to the pressure group by emphasising “there is no censorship in publishing in Hong Kong”.