2022-07-27 06:31:18
Hongkongers' Book Fair Cancelled, but Presses On with Online Store: "We'd Rather Be Naive than Give Up"The annual Hong Kong Book Fair is set to take place in late July this year. However, many books that had political undertones or highlighted local culture had been banned from the book fair by local the government's Trade Development Council, who refused to explain the ban or give a list of exhibitors that they have turned away.
In light of this, local publisher Hillway Culture partnered with other like-minded exhibitors to organize the first-ever "Hongkongers' Book Fair," set to take place on July 14 in Causeway Bay.
The day before the fair was set to take place, however, the organizers received a notice from the venue owner saying that the book fair may be in breach of the fair's lease agreement, and they may need to terminate the lease, explained Hillway Culture's spokesperson Raymond Yeung during a press conference on the same afternoon.
Yeung explained in tears that he had expected all kinds of unexpected complaints against the book fair, including fire ordinances, anti-pandemic ordinances, or even the #NationalSecurityLaw. They had expressed willingness to fully cooperate with the venue owners, only so that #Hongkongers can have a book fair that belonged to themselves.
A journalist at the press conference mentioned that the pro-Beijing group "Politihk Social Strategic" had called on citizens to visit the book fair and "inspect the books for law violations". Plain-clothes officers were also said to have visited the venue, and inquired about the fair at the mall's management office.
By 9pm, the organizers announced that the venue owner had terminated the lease. The owner claimed that the book fair violated the venue's usage agreement by "sub-letting" booths to exhibitors - despite the venue having been previously used to host bazaars in a similar setup. The owner had even provided photos and promoted contractors who had previously provided booth setup works. Though the fair organizers expressed that they were willing to make any adjustments necessary, the owners insisted on terminating the contract, forcing the event to be cancelled.
News of the sudden shutdown was met with quick responses from Hongkongers who looked forward to the book fair. Many commenters pledged not to refund their VIP tickets and to visit the participating bookstores. In a subsequent Facebook post, the organizers thanked Hongkongers for their "encouragements, comfort, affirmations, and suggestions. This is an unexpected gift that came after such terrible news."
The organizers have continued on with the online version of the book fair, letting Hongkongers everywhere participate despite the lack of a physical venue. They had also secured a distributor in Manchester to ship out orders made in the UK.
Borrowing a quote from the participating Boundary Bookstore, the organizers wrote: "You can mock our naivete for staying behind, but we'd rather be naive than give up."
Source: #FirstHand #Jul13
Hongkongers' Book Fair Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/hkersbookfair/
#HKersBookFair #Suppression #Culture #BookBanning
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