Questioning Hong Kong’s lack of a banned book list is ‘soft resistance’ – outgoing nat. security police chief
Questioning why the government will not release a list of books banned in Hong Kong or specify where the red lines lie for seditious content is a form of “soft resistance,” the outgoing head of the police’s national security department has said.
In an interview with select media outlets just before stepping down as Deputy Commissioner of Police (National Security), Andrew Kan said that raids on bookstores and arrests of bookstore staff conducted by his department earlier this year were not an abuse of power.
He also said that national security legislation was clear on what constitutes illegal acts.
In July, Hong Kong’s national security police raided two independent bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of sedition. Officers also seized books said to carry “seditious intention.”
“Saying there is no list of banned books or that the red lines are unclear – I think that is a form of soft resistance,” Kan said.
The term “soft resistance” was first mentioned in 2021 in a speech by Luo Huining, then-director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong. Since then, Hong Kong officials have cited “soft resistance” as a threat to national security, although they have not provided a clear definition of the term.
Security chief Chris Tang on Monday said soft resistance was the “most malicious” threat to national security in the city.
‘We actually read the books’
The July bookstore raids, which followed the arrests of other independent bookstore operators in June, came a day after one of the businesses targeted, Have a Nice Stay, announced its imminent closure.
In its closing announcement, the bookstore cited financial difficulties and “unclear red lines,” adding that authorities have never specified which books can and cannot be legally sold in the city.
“We’ve taken it one step further than bookstore owners and their staff – we actually read the books,” Kan said in the interview.
Before bookstores consider selling a book, they should read it or seek legal advice, Kan said. Otherwise, they should simply decide not to sell it.
“If we release a list of banned books now, and a new illegal title is released the next day, people will question why arrests were made if it wasn’t on the list,” Kan said in the interview.
Before deciding to undertake enforcement actions, the police will consult the Department of Justice to ask if it suspects the book’s content violates national security legislation, Kan said.
Conservative Christian NGO The Society for Truth and Light said after the raids in July that the government’s refusal to release a list of banned books amounts to an “abuse of power” and undermines the rule of law.
It was the only civil society organisation in Hong Kong to speak out against the raids.
Kelvin Kong has been sworn in as the head of the Department for Safeguarding National Security, replacing Kan as he goes into retirement.
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