National security law: Hong Kong libraries pull books by some localist and democracy activists for review
- At least nine titles by Joshua Wong, Horace Chin and Tanya Chan are not available to the public
- Bar Association chief and authors themselves call for authorities to justify their policy decision
Hong Kong libraries have taken at least nine titles written by localist or democracy advocates out of circulation pending a review of whether the books run afoul of the new national security law.
Bar Association chairman Philip Dykes called the move alarming and said authorities needed to justify restricting the public’s right to seek information.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which manages the city’s public libraries, confirmed it was scrutinising some books for compliance with the new law, without naming them.
The Chinese-language books were written by activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, localist Horace Chin Wan-kan and Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan. A search of the nine titles on the library website on Saturday found all the titles marked “under review”.
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The Post spoke to City Hall Public Library in its capacity as a reader and a staff member said the authorities were determining whether the books violated the new provisions.