VOA慢速英语2015 Book Publishers Warn of Censorship in Hong Kong

AS IT IS 2015-03-30 Book Publishers Warn of Censorship in Hong Kong

Book publishers and authors are warning that censorship is increasing in Hong Kong. They say bookstores are returning books connected to authors who have been involved in the recent pro-democracy protests.

Bookstores are reportedly under pressure to not carry books that may offend the central government in mainland China.

Carmen Kwong Wing-suen is the chief editor of the book publishing company Up Publications. She said her company had hundreds of books returned by Sino United Publishing, which oversees¹ several other publishing companies.

Ms. Kwong co-wrote a book on the Occupy Central protests. She said the book received orders for only 28 copies instead of the normal 200 copies. She also said most of the books recently returned by Sino United Publishing were not about political topics.

Sino United Publishing operates 51 stores through its subsidiaries. Company officials say each store owner makes his or her own decision about which titles to carry.

Bruce Lui Ping-kuen is a former reporter and now teaches journalism² at Hong Kong's Baptist University. He said the rejection³ of books by publishers supportive of the pro-democracy movement is part of the increased censorship in the city.  

“I think looking at the book censorship case in a way it’s a reflection of the differences between censorship in Hong Kong and the censorship we have under one country, two systems," he said.

Mr. Lui also said censoring⁴ books from publishers supportive of the pro-democracy movement is an example of “creative ways to limit or stop voices that are hostile to the Communist Party.”

David Bandurski is a researcher at the University of Hong Kong’s China Media Project. He said censorship is becoming more widespread in Hong Kong, from print media to broadcast media. He said friends in the media industry tell him about the difficulties they face when trying to cover sensitive news.

"Because I have a lot of friends working in the industry who discuss with me quite a lot. Sometimes, when they want to do some kind of sensitive news, especially on mainland China, then their boss will use all kinds of excuses to block them or give them more difficulties in doing so.”

Words in This Story:

censorship – n. the system or practice of removing  books, movies, letters, etc., that officials consider offensive, immoral⁵, or harmful to society

subsidiary – n. a company that is owned or controlled by another company

creative – adj. done in an unusual and often dishonest way

1 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

2 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

3 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

4 censoring   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Therefore, exhibitors shall not make use of these materials before censoring. 展商在审查前不可使用这些资料。
• The company then said it would end self-censoring search results, putting it at odds with Beijing. 随后该公司表示，将停止自我审查搜索结果，从而与中国政府发生对抗。

5 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。