'Govt Exercising Self-restraint On Library Books'

Executive Councillor Ronny Tong said the government is exercising “self-restraint” by suspending the lending of controversial books at public libraries, to make sure they comply with the newly enacted national security law.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme on Monday, Tong said the law states that it is the common responsibility of everyone to safeguard national security, therefore it’s understandable why public libraries would avoid lending books with remarks related to Hong Kong independence and subversion.

He said there’s no need for people to make such a fuss about it, saying it would not affect freedom of publication as book shops in Hong Kong can still sell whatever books they like, and people can also circulate books among friends.

But the convener of the pan-democratic camp, Tanya Chan, said she didn’t understand why public libraries suddenly pulled a book she published six years ago, saying that her book did not promote violence or Hong Kong independence.

Speaking to the same radio programme, Chan dismissed comments from the pro-establishment camp and the government that the security law would only target a small number of people, saying that it was far-reaching and the move by the city's libraries would cause white terror and self-censorship.

Meanwhile, local publisher Jimmy Pang said the national security law is putting pressure on and causing fear in the publishing sector.

Pang, who is a spokesperson for the 2020 Book Fair Concern Group, told the same programme that there were concerns that simply selling certain books would be considered "advocacy", and urged the authorities to provide guidelines as soon as possible.

He said a lot of publishers would avoid selling books that would “cause trouble” in the upcoming Book Fair as they are worried they would unknowingly violate the law, and said the city’s freedom of publishing and expression is being undermined.