Is the word ‘national’ banned in Hong Kong? Leisure department accused of telling drama group to censor Taipei university name in artist’s bio

The Secretary for Home Affairs said the authorities would work on improving communications with arts groups after the Leisure and Cultural Services Department allegedly prohibited an artist from publishing the full name of her Taiwanese alma mater because it contained the word “national”. But despite this pledge, the minister failed to clarify if political censorship was involved in the incident. The artist, Suie Lo Shuk-yin, was an executive producer for the drama production Three Novels: The Third Lie, staged at Tsuen Wan Town Hall from last Friday to Sunday by local drama group The Nonsensemakers. Lo had provided a brief artist biography for the programme booklet, in which she mentioned her alma mater, the Taipei National University of the Arts. The Nonsensemakers said on their Facebook page on Monday that department staff had verbally requested that the word “national”, both in Chinese and English, not appear in the booklet. The group said it tried and failed several times to change their mind. The staff members suggested that they use the Chinese version of the abbreviated form of the school name instead, which did not contain the offending word. The biography was finally changed to a few sentences protesting against restriction of creativity and freedom of speech. Lo appeared in a picture next to the text with her degree certificate, which carried the university’s full name. READ MORE: A humble apology to the LCSD – you were ‘spot-on’ about new Hong Kong Stadium pitch The group said the school name was a basic fact which should be published in full out of respect for academia and the arts. The Nonsensemakers said they would rather withdraw the information than publish the “pruned personal introduction”, and added: “We deeply hope that Hongkongers can continue to enjoy freedom to speak and create. This is the core value we treasure the most.” The department on Monday night gave no direct response over whether it had prohibited the use of the school’s full name. A spokesman said the department often discussed the publication of the programme booklets with art groups, and added that it would look into this case more closely and explore how to strengthen communications with the concerned organisation in the future. READ MORE: Art attack – how Hong Kong’s cultural providers will cope with budget cuts Speaking before the weekly Executive Council on Tuesday morning, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was asked if LCSD’s handling of the issue showed that Hong Kong was becoming a less civilised place. In response, he said only that the government was following up on the matter, and that Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah would speak on the topic later on Tuesday. But the home affairs minister’s briefing that afternoon lasted only two minutes. Lau read the Chinese and English versions of a script and did not take any questions. Referring to the officials’ communication with artists, he said: “The LCSD has from time to time with a very close relationship with our arts groups in Hong Kong with mutual respect and mutual trust. We will look into the communication and practise with an aim to benefit our future good cooperation.” Lau added: “Hong Kong has maintaining very close and active relation with other parts of the world ... The cooperation is good, is fruitful.” He refused to say if the incident showed the use of the word “national” was restricted in arts programmes, or whether Hong Kong still enjoyed the freedom in art production. An online search showed that the department had previously publicised the full names of Taiwanese universities such as National Taiwan University and National Chengchi University when introducing arts programmes and artists on its website. Similar examples were found on other government websites as well as in the gazettes. The alleged ban drew fire from lawmakers. Democrat James To Kun-sun said: “The department couldn’t even accommodate a name, which was very absurd. It was an oppression of speech and creative freedom.” To said the central government had recognised the “1992 consensus”, which stated that there was one China, with the mainland and Taiwan each having its own interpretation of what that meant. “The department is undoubtedly stirring up the Taiwanese people’s emotion and holding back President Xi Jinping,” To said. In a letter to the director of Leisure and Cultural Services Michelle Li Mei-sheung, Civic Party lawmaker Dr Kenneth Chan Ka-lok called this a case of political censorship. He urged Li to provide the justification for the decision, as well as to conduct an investigation and to apologise to the drama group.

Is the word ‘national’ banned in Hong Kong? Leisure department accused of telling drama group to censor Taipei university name in artist’s bio

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Home affairs minister pledges better communication with arts groups but refuses to say if use of word is restricted after move by LCSD draws flak from lawmakers

Home affairs minister pledges better communication with arts groups but refuses to say if use of word is restricted after move by LCSD draws flak from lawmakers