Self-Censorship in Hong Kong Rises Again on Tibet and Right to Demonstrate
Looks like self-censorship is alive and well in Hong Kong.
Here is an article from the South CHina Morning Post about how an article on Tibet was denied publication in Hong Kong by the Law Society.
The author of the Tibet article also had trouble getting his book on the history of the right to demonstrate published.
Apparently there was the famous Tiananmen photo on the cover.
When he did finally get it printed, a number of bookstores, including the main bookstore chain in Hong Kong, Dymocks, wouldn't take it.
Legal journal refuses to print article on Tibet Law publication is self-censoring, says author of rejected piece
Albert Wong
Updated on Apr 26, 2008
An article setting out the legal basis for Tibetan self-determination has been refused publication in the Law Society's official journal.
Human rights lawyer Paul Harris SC raised concerns of self-censorship after he was informed yesterday that his article on Tibet commissioned for the Hong Kong Lawyer had been barred from publication.
The fact that the article was being prepared for the May edition - coinciding with the Hong Kong leg of the Olympic torch relay on Friday - suggested the last-minute U-turn was a case of self-censorship because of the sensitive nature of the subject, he said.
Hong Kong is the first stop of the torch's three-month tour around the mainland, before it arrives in Beijing in August.
Mr Harris acknowledged that his conclusions may be controversial, "but now, even debate on the issue has been denied".
Mr Harris is a founding member of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, an independent rights group.
Cecilia Wong Ng Kit-wah, chairwoman of the journal's 16-member editorial board, said it was a collective decision not to publish the article. She said there were a lot of considerations but no particular aspect that made the board decide against it.
Law Society president Lester Huang said he was not part of the decision-making process, but stressed the independence of the board, which is made up of solicitors and academics.
Mr Harris published an article in the South China Morning Post this month, recounting his first impression of the Dalai Lama as a reasonable man with "obvious moral integrity" and arguing for Hong Kong-style autonomy for Tibet.
Mr Harris said the editor of Hong Kong Lawyer, Brendan Clift, requested that he write a similar article, but expanded to suit the legal community. Mr Clift said he did not want to comment for this story.
The draft of the article for Hong Kong Lawyer that the Post obtained analyses interpretations of "sovereignty" and "self-determination" with reference to the United Nations and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and provides a brief history of China's relations with Tibet.
It concludes: "If Kosovo has a right to self-determination, the right of Tibet is infinitely stronger. The catalogue of gross oppression, the second-class citizen status of Tibetans under Chinese rule, and the identity of Tibet as a country are all much clearer than in Kosovo's case."
However, unless discussions over autonomy are initiated, thereby quelling animosity towards Beijing, "self-determination in Tibet is bound to mean independence".
The Frontier lawmaker Emily Lau Wai-hing said she deplored self-censorship, particularly in the legal community. "They should be the ones defending our rights [and] initiating debates, not covering them up," she said.