Page 8 - Varsity Special Issue

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knocks on my door one day, which is As a former US lawyer himself,
the scariest scenario,” he says. “ Wan is most concerned about validity
White terror over independent and accountability of the law. “The en-
bookstore sector sparked public out- The act of thinking forcement of the law is very much up
cry in 2015, when Lam Wing-kee, to the political leadership. There is no
owner of Causeway Bay Books and or bookselling accountability and no transparency,”
five of his coworkers went missing. he says.
Lam later informed the public that he itself is a way of re- Wan views vagueness of the law

was detained by the Chinese authori- sisting the political as a way to generate a chilling effect.
ties in Guangdong province for more “There is no clear guideline and I
than 400 days for selling books critical suppression. All we think it is intentional,” Wan says. “The
of China’s leaders. Lam flew to Taiwan government wants us to set our own
in April 2019 and reopened his book- can do is to carry red lines and instil fear and self cen-
store, Causeway Bay Books, in Taipei sorship among members of the pub-
Daniel Lee reading books at Hong Kong Reader Bookstore ‘New Arrivals’ Book Collection of Hong Kong Reader Book- on April 25, 2020. on. lic in terms of not saying things that
store The missing booksellers case has might possibly offend the regime,”
aniel Lee, owner of Hong The national security law, intro- from public library shelves, triggering put Hong Kong under the spotlight of Wan adds.
Kong Reader Bookstore, an duced by the Beijing government to fears and concerns over possible im- international media, provoking wide- ” Wan thinks there is obviously a
Dindependent shop featuring prevent, stop and punish acts of se- pact of the law on freedom of expres- spread concern over Hong Kong’s de- certain level of self censorship: “Peo-
books on humanities and social sci- cession, subversion of state power, sion. clining freedom. With the national cialises in English language books, ple may still agree with a lot of what
ences, is one of many booksellers in terrorist activities, and collusion with Fear over Independent Booksell- security law imposed, booksellers are shares Lee’s worries. “They did that to they want to publish but cannot do so.
Hong Kong who is concerned about foreign forces that endangers national ing worried that similar incidents will the Causeway Bay booksellers without At the same time, they have a business
the implementation of national secu- security, took effect on June 30, 2020, “There is zero guideline from the take place again - only this time it is a law in place. Now that there’s a law to run, they have families too, so they
rity law. the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the government, and that is worrying,” carried out according to the law. in place and they have the whole ap- are concerned about their own safety.”
“When the bookstore first es- city’s handover to China from British Lee says. “Until now, there is no of- paratus to enforce the law, ... I don’t
tablished in 2007, Hong Kong was rule. ficial announcement as to what con- Chilling Effect see those tactics going away, if any- Persisting in Resistance
still a relatively free and open so- Following social unrest brought tent might possibly be considered as Wan, owner of Bleak House Books, thing, it is going to be more common,” Despite the depressing circum-
ciety. I never thought there would by the anti-Extradition Law Amem- threats to national security. All we can an independent bookstore that spe- Wan says. stances, both booksellers are com-
be (a concept of) banned books (in dment Bill (anti-ELAB) movement do is to pay close attention to how the mitted to upholding what they think
Hong Kong) one day,” Lee says. since June 2019, implementation of law is being enforced,” Lee adds. is right. “I don’t think we need to do
In view of the legislation, Lee the law has caused public outcry over Lee, who still sells political ti- anything especially brave. We just
says that he has reluctantly re- Beijing’s tightening control on the tles such as 1984, On Tyranny and have to keep doing business as usual,”
semi-autonomous city.
books about the anti-ELAB move-
moved books about “Hong Kong Soon after the law was introduced, ment, says his biggest concern over Wan says.
Citing a quote from German phi-
Independence” from his store shelves. books written by prominent pro- the law is its vagueness. “What if I sell losopher Hannh Arendt, “There are
“Publishers have filtered content democracy figures, including at least books about Mao Zedong or Marx- no dangerous thoughts; thinking it-
mentioning independence and re- nine titles by localist Horace Chin ism which also include issues about self is dangerous”, Lee explains that he
phrased polically sensitive terms. Wan-kan, activist Joshua Wong Chi- freedom of speech? Would it be con- firmly believes in the power of books.
Some book printers have refused to fung and former lawmaker Tanya sidered illegal?” he laughs. “We would “The act of thinking or bookselling it-
print books related to independence Chan Suk-chong have been removed never know, not until the government self is a way of resisting the political
even long before the law (was intro- suppression. All we can do is to carry
duced) in light of the political cli- “ on,” he says.
mate,” Lee says.
“I did not expect independent We would never know, not until the gov-
Reviewing Textbooks
booksellers to become guardians of ernment knocks on my door one day, Apart from books sold in book-
freedom of speech,” Lee says. “Ten stores, publication of textbooks is also
years ago, we did not take politics into which is the scariest scenario. facing similar situation. According to
consideration. But now, running an a circular issued by the Education Bu-
independent bookstore and selling reau on July 3, 2020, schools are urged
books is already like taking a (politi- to review curriculum and teaching
cal) stand,” Lee adds. ” On Tyranny being sold at Bleak House Books. (Photo courtesy of Albert Wan)