Hong Kong – Mainlandization goes daily

Writer Ma Jian says that Tai Kwun, the renovated Central Police Station/Victoria Prison complex, has cancelled a Hong Kong International Literary Festival event featuring him. The HK$3 billion (or something) facility is supposed to serve as an arts hub, but being under quasi-government (HK Jockey Club) management, it must clearly put the Chinese Communist Party’s ultra-refined cultural tastes first.

Maybe we should be amazed and thankful that Ma is even allowed in to Hong Kong (assuming he is). Any chance of hosting him at the Foreign Correspondents Club? Any chance of the Festival moving to Taiwan in future? Any chance the forthcoming M+ Museum being shut the day after it opens until it loses all those Ai Weiwei pieces?

Next up, the Hong Kong government bans anyone talking about or hosting talks about Free Expression Week. After all, this comes after [insert latest list of Asia World City’s cancelled exhibitions, intimidated artists, abducted publishers, un-shown films, expelled correspondents, etc].

Speaking of expelled correspondents, among the sponsors of the HK Literary Festival – the Financial Times!

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5 Responses to Hong Kong – Mainlandization goes daily

  1. Docta Vibbrachi says:

    Indeed. It’s called Communism, or rather neo-capitalism. Live with it or go to Taiwan please. They have different terrors there of course: mopeds, grasping libidinous women, boredom.

    Meanwhile, I see you never criticize the US and A which has five per cent of the world’s population and twenty-five per cent of the prisoners.

  2. Stanley Lieber says:

    The MTR today posted a notice in stations entitled “Causing a nuisance in MTR stations” banning the passing over of “any matter or thing” between the paid and unpaid areas, a harmless ritual performed daily by thousands of Hongkongers.

    Apparently the urge to push people around is contagious.

  3. @Stanley Lieber – that notice has been posted in my local station for ages. To be fair, I don’t think it’s sheer bossiness – I believe it’s intended to stop cross-border traders and their local accomplices from moving their goods back and forth on the train without exiting the paid area, thereby saving themselves the cost of a ticket while inconveniencing the rest of us.

  4. Chinese Netizen says:

    US and A is too low of a hanging fruit and there are already too many “experts” dissecting every bit of the place.

    And we’re here for the ASIA angle.

  5. Stanley Lieber says:

    @Old Newcomer – It was reported to me as new to Tseung Kwan O station and had attracted a small crowd, but I’m sure you must be right.

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