A Hong Kong performing arts group has been left without a venue for two plays after the school that was hosting them was told by the city’s Education Bureau (EDB) to cancel the lease agreement, citing national security guidelines.
Performing arts group Fire Makes Us Human said on Facebook on Wednesday that it had hired a performance space at the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity (HKICC) to put on two stage plays in early February.
However, the group said it had been informed by the HKICC on January 19 that the school could not lend out the venue according to Education Bureau guidelines updated last June. Despite the group’s efforts to appeal to different parties, it said it was unable to change the school’s decision.
“Ultimately, we cannot proceed with the productions of the two plays, which has rendered the hundreds of hours of effort from all the participants behind the scenes in vain,” the group wrote in Chinese. “Our group feels helpless and despairing for the future of Hong Kong’s art development.”
Alex Tong, founder of the art group, told HKFP in Cantonese by phone on Thursday that the HKICC had told him about the Education Bureau receiving “reports” concerning his “inappropriate remarks linked to controversial and sensitive issues.” But, Tong said, the school did not know exactly what those remarks were.
Tong said he had tried to reach the Education Bureau’s Kowloon Regional Education Office but had been told by senior school development officer Wong Yuk Ki that while the authority could confirm it had received complaints and reports, it could not divulge what the complaints were about.
‘Opaque system’
In response to HKFP, HKICC confirmed by email on Wednesday that the school had received “cancellation requests” from the Education Bureau on January 19, citing the bureau’s national security guidelines.
“Regarding reports and complaints in this case, it is recommended to refer to EDB as they are the ones who receive the complaint,” the school said.
“As an art school, we will, whenever possible, provide rental support for the production of art groups. However, HKSC is a direct-subsidized school under the jurisdiction of the Education Bureau, therefore, all arrangements, including curriculum, student development, and facility usage, must comply with the instructions and guidelines provided by the Education Bureau,” the school continued.
In an emailed Chinese-language response to HKFP on Thursday, the Education Bureau did not respond to a question about what the reported complaints related to.
“After receiving the complaint, the Education Bureau has contacted the school to understand the situation and provided appropriate advice and support to the school based on guidelines from the perspective of student protection,” the authority said.
Citing the national security guidelines, the authority said schools’ governing bodies must “prevent inappropriate use of school premises,” including in situations where schools lease facilities to external organisations and when external individuals are invited to participate in school events.
“It’s a super opaque system. So, whenever someone files a complaint [to authorities], they can determine our fate?” Tong said in Cantonese, urging the Education Bureau to clarify the issue.
In its Facebook post, Fire Makes Us Human said it had always obeyed the law and reserved the right to purse legal action against suspected defamation. Founded in 2017, the performing arts group has around 40 members.
According to promotional materials for the two cancelled plays, one was about a group of artists who shared a dream of art in front of a broken art work, while the other depicted a group of losers’ as they reflected on their situation during an armed robbery. Both were to be performed by young actors aged 17 to 30.
Winton Au, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and member of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), said in a statement on Monday that neither of the productions involved sensitive issues.
“[The Education Bureau] therefore suppressed artistic creation and contradicted the official vision of building Hong Kong as a hub for cultural and artistic exchange between local and international communities,” Au said, adding that his statement did not represent the official view of the HKADC.
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