Booksellers and browsers have praised an independent book fair which invited firms excluded from Hong Kong’s mainstream Book Fair last year, along with other publishers.
But organiser Leticia Wong, owner of the independent Hunter bookstore, expressed doubt there would be another “indie” event after the four-day book market wound up on Sunday, saying in a Facebook post she had even feared arrest.
“I am pessimistic. I don’t think Hunter Bookstore will be lucky enough to have a second book market,” the former district councillor said.
The Hong Kong Book Fair is a major annual event which attracts thousands of readers in a city where some publishers fear censorship under national security legislation: “[The market] was to let everyone have an alternative, other than the Hong Kong Book Fair in Wan Chai, to know more about publishing in Hong Kong,” said Hunter Bookstore – owned by Wong – in an earlier Facebook post.
The indie event ran from last Thursday to Sunday, while the Hong Kong Book Fair was held from last Wednesday to this Tuesday. The latter is organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), a statutory body uniting business leaders and government officials.
Since 1990, the Book Fair has been held at the city’s imposing Convention and Exhibition Centre, whilst the indie event was staged in far humbler surroundings, on the mezzanine floor of a clothing store in Sham Shui Po. It covered an area equal to about four standard booths in the convention centre.
Half the floor area was set aside for five independent publishers to display their books, while the rest was occupied by bookshelves and tables filled with books from at least ten indie publishers, including Hunter Bookstore itself.
‘More chances to be seen’
“From my perspective, many books from the small-scale publishers are better than those from the three leading publishers, so I hope their books can have more chance to be seen,” Wong told HKFP in Cantonese.
Publishers invited to the indie event included Hillway Culture and Humming Publishing, which were last year excluded from the Hong Kong Book Fair.
In response to HKFP’s enquiry last year, the HKTDC said it would not comment on individual cases as “[when] organising any event, it is not uncommon that some applications may not be successful.”
Hillway Culture was founded by Raymond Yeung, a teacher injured during the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest. The publisher decided to take part in the 2021 Book Fair, despite being warned that some titles might be in breach of the national security legislation.
Humming Publishing, the same year, published a book entitled A Concise History of Hong Kong, which local media reported had been removed from public libraries.
Yeung had plans last year to launch an independent book fair after being barred from the mainstream event. But the plans were axed a day before the official launch when the organisers were accused by the venue’s owner of breaching the lease terms.
No censorship
This year, said Wong, “we did not censor what books the publishers would exhibit. We did not even ask about it.”
At the indie event, HKFP saw two books displayed by Hillway Culture that a pro-Beijing NGO said may have seditious content.
“The Hong Kong Trade Development Council is a statutory body and it is restricted by the political situation of the government…” Yeung told HKFP in Cantonese. “This [book market] is a great chance for the public to find books that cannot be found at the Hong Kong Book Fair.”
The HKTDC said before this year’s event that it did not have a list of banned titles and it would not pre-screen books, “as long as the titles didn’t breach Hong Kong law, including the national security law.”
Yeung said publishers which produced political books were “obviously” not welcome at government events.
“It will become more difficult for us to continue surviving in the market. [This indie book market] is a good start for us to see whether we can simply rely on the support of the private market and the public.”
HK Feature, a publisher which focuses on in-depth reports on social issues, also had a booth at the indie market. “Exposure is difficult for us, as our books cannot enter the large bookstores,” said founder Kwan Chun-hoi.
Kwan said that even if one of their books was available in large bookstores, the process was very difficult.
“Nowadays, the area for exhibiting books in the large bookstores is significantly reduced. Many bookstores under the three leading publishers also closed down.”
When HKFP visited, the tiny indie book market was attracting about five to ten visitors at a time. “I would like to read a diversity of books, not restricted to certain types,” said Eric Lau, one of the browsers. “I want to see if there is something I cannot find at the Hong Kong Book Fair.”
Promoting old culture
At the Book Fair, large booths of three leading bookstores – Commercial Press, Joint Publishing and Chung Hwa Book Company – were prominently sited near the entrance, as in previous years.
The three leading bookstores are controlled by China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, according to media reports.
The Chung Hwa and Joint Publishing booths featured books introducing the Wynners, and Beyond, two local bands active in the 1970s and 80s.
Joint Publishing focused partly on Hong Kong classic movies, dramas and songs and books related to this theme, said Leung Wai-ki, the publishing manager of Joint Publishing.
“I think it is a round-up. This is a special year for the Wynners and Beyond so we chose this as our theme,” Leung said.
The theme of this year’s Kong Book Fair was “History and City Literature.”
“The fair introduces books and artworks on Hong Kong’s history, culture and architecture,” its website said.
There were also books aplenty on literature, culture, philosophy and self-help, but titles on politics were hard to spot. However, some books that have been removed from public libraries could be found in at least two booths.
At the booth of local publisher Bbluesky, there were two travelogues by Allan Au, a journalist who was arrested for allegedly publishing seditious materials.
At the booth of Oxford University Press, there was a book about the political career of ex-lawmaker Margaret Ng, who was convicted of organising and participating in an unauthorised protest in 2019.
Leslie Ng, the person in charge of Bbluesky, said the Au books “were obviously travelogues” and he was not worried about selling them.
He said that Bbluesky had been exhibiting at the Book Fair for four to five years but, this year, books which were able to reflect society were very “few” in number.
“[In the past] you would know what had been happening in society during that period of time, after you had a walk around the Hong Kong Book Fair, as publishers usually published books on hot topics. However, nowadays the situation could not be reflected,” said Ng.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
LATEST FROM HKFP
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
LATEST FROM HKFP
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.
