Hong Kong’s artistic freedoms were being tightened in Beijing
When pro-Hong Kong Chinese characters began to wonder what kind of art should be allowed in the city’s new M + Visual Culture Museum, it revealed a growing rift between artistic freedoms and territorial state censorship.
These tensions, which arose after the city imposed a tough national security law last year, will be further tested when one of the world’s largest art fairs returns to Hong Kong on Friday. More than ever, the territory’s former free cultural community is being covered in Beijing, critics say.
“M +, Art Basel and many international art names have opened galleries in Hong Kong, but all of that was before this new national security law,” he said. Ai Weiwei, The most famous Chinese dissident artist, and his works were exhibited this year at the M + gallery on the seafront in Kowloon.
CHINA / SOCIETY
By Global Times Published: May 20, 2021 09:16 PM
Secretary for Security of the HKSAR government John Lee Ka-chiu speaks during an interview with Xinhua in south China s Hong Kong on Jan. 28, 2021.Photo:Xinhua
Fugitives who have fled overseas under charges related to national security will be pursued for life under the national security law for Hong Kong, John Lee, the Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, warned on Wednesday.
In a Cable TV interview, Lee said that the fugitives, who are currently “protected” by foreign governments, will become disposable when they are of no political value, and will be pursued for the rest of their lives by the Hong Kong police.
Timeline: Two Months of Turmoil at Hong Kong Public Broadcaster RTHK
Posted by John Chan | May 3, 2021
Over the weekend, the embattled Hong Kong public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) announced that it would begin deleting its own programming from the internet, including all content over a year old. It is a chilling move by the broadcaster, which has been embroiled in turmoil following a change of management with the appointment of civil servant Patrick Li as its Director of Broadcasting in February. On Monday, the broadcaster also formally fired Nabela Qoser, an outspoken RTHK journalist who gained widespread recognition during the 2019-2020 protests for her hard hitting questioning of public officials.