Hong Kong arts funding body pulls grants for 2 projects over concerns they may have violated national security law
- Hong Kong Arts Development Council withdraws HK$1 million in funding and updates its terms for schemes
- Culture bureau also reveals that review of all public library books has been completed and offending titles removed but refuses to name them
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council has also updated the terms for its funding schemes, saying it has the right to suspend, adjust or stop grants for projects that advocated Hong Kong independence or overthrowing the government.
“The [council] decisively terminated two projects under its project grant and year grant respectively that were suspected to have violated certain regulations or laws. The total amount of grants involved HK$1 million,” the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau wrote in a reply to lawmakers’ questions on Friday.
“[The council] issued a letter to its grantees in January 2021, reminding them they must comply with all laws and regulations in force in Hong Kong, including [the national security law].”
The bureau added the council had also asked all grant recipients to attend workshops presented by legal professionals to better understand the national security law, as well as ones covering copyright and employment.
The bureau did not provide any details about the arts projects, but the council in July 2021 confirmed it had withdrawn a grant of more than HK$700,000 (US$90,000) to Ying E Chi Cinema, the distributor of the documentary Inside the Red Brick Wall.
