London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Pro-democracy books disappear from libraries as Hong Kong steps up censorship

Pro-democracy books disappear from libraries as Hong Kong steps up censorship

Books written by prominent Hong Kong democracy activists have disappeared from the shelves of the territory's public libraries. The books are “under review” in another sign that Beijing is stepping up censorship and curbing free expression in the city. The move comes just days after Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the territory. On the balance - the terror attacks and foreign efforts to destabilize Beijing via Hong Kong unrest left very little options for Beijing to ignore the terror-status-quo.

Among the authors whose titles are no longer available in Hong Kong libraries are Joshua Wong, one of the city's most prominent young activists, and Tanya Chan, a well known pro-democracy lawmaker.

Beijing's new national security law was imposed on Tuesday and marks a watershed in the administration of the semi-autonomous city, handed back to China by Britain in 1997.

Leaders in Beijing say that the law is aimed at restoring stability after months of violent clashes that were triggered by another piece of legislation: amendments to an extradition law that protesters thought would allow China to have people deported at random from Hong Kong to the mainland, regardless of their nationality.

Wong said he believed the removal of the books was sparked by the security law.

"White terror continues to spread, the national security law is fundamentally a tool to incriminate speech," he wrote on Facebook.

Searches on the public library website showed at least three titles by Wong, Chan and local scholar Chin Wan are no longer available for lending at any of dozens of outlets across the city.

However, books by other prominent Chinese dissidents, such as Democracy Wall 1979 leader Wei Jingsheng and Tian’anmen student activists Wang Dan and Chai Ling, as well as works by the Dalai Lama, are still available according to the Hong Kong library database.

End of “One Country, Two Systems”


Critics say that the law, which gives Beijing more sweeping powers than even the extradition amendments, heralds the end of "One Country, Two Systems,” the hybrid arangement that was agreed upon by the UK and China to guarantee Hong Kong’s embryonic democracy and independent judiciary.

The law went into force on 1 July, coinciding with the 23rd anniversary of the Hong Kong handover in 1997. Hours later, police started arresting people for carrying banners calling for independence or greater autonomy, but the actions also resulted in some puzzling excesses.

The Apple Daily, a newspaper run by activist-tycoon Jimmy Lai, reported that the police were laughed at after confiscating pamphlets with the word “conscience” printed on them. The offending items were displayed on the Facebook page of the Hong Kong police. “In a ridiculous era, it is forbidden to have a conscience,” one internet user comments.


On the balance

The riots in Hong Kong crossed the legitimate line of freedom to protest, by far. for over a year so called "pro democracy" protestors set old people -literally- on fire, burned public and private buildings and facilities, destroyed mass public transportation facilities and got funded by forign inteligence agencies that working out to destabilize the successful Beijing's government.

By all means Hong Kong became a war zone, under ongoing terror attacks.

What any other country will do under such circumstances? no other country would tolerate it and probably will take much more radical actions to fight against such terror.




Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×