Since the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020, the public libraries in Hong Kong have been removing many books with political themes from their shelves. Last year, the online media “City Magazine” tried to obtain a list of Chinese books purchased by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) library but was unsuccessful. They then lodged a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman ultimately ruled that the practice did not violate the “Code on Access to Information” and accepted the LCSD’s explanation that “disclosing information could harm the security of Hong Kong.”
In May last year, a reporter from “City Magazine” requested the LCSD to provide a list of Chinese books purchased by the public library after the implementation of the National Security Law, but the LCSD stated that after consulting legal advice, they cited Section 2.3(b) of the “Code” indicating that disclosing such information could harm or damage the security of Hong Kong, therefore, they were unable to provide the relevant data. The LCSD cited regulations claiming that the practice was to protect information that could be advantageous to individuals engaged in espionage, conspiracy, or terrorist activities, hence they would not disclose the book purchasing list.
The reporter from “City Magazine” was subsequently referred to the Office of the Ombudsman, citing the “Code on Access to Information,” pointing out that government departments have a responsibility to publicly provide data on service provisions, service performance promises, and the fulfillment of commitments. As the resources of the Hong Kong public library involve public fund utilization, making the library’s book purchase list public would allow the public to evaluate whether the LCSD is fulfilling its service performance commitments. The reporter believed that the LCSD did not clearly explain the relationship between the library’s book purchase list and espionage or terrorist activities in their response.
In July last year, the Office of the Ombudsman decided to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the complaint. Nine months later, on March 20 of this year, the Office of the Ombudsman replied to the “City Magazine” reporter with the investigation results, stating that they accepted the LCSD’s explanation that “disclosing information could harm the security of Hong Kong,” and ruled that the complaint was not substantiated, thus closing the case.
According to reports, last year, “Ming Pao” also cited the “Code on Access to Information” to request a list of “books removed due to the National Security Law” from the LCSD but was refused. The Office of the Ombudsman similarly ruled that the complaint was not substantiated, stating that disclosing the list of removed books could harm national security.
Furthermore, according to a feature report by “City Magazine,” as of March 26 this year, only 9 Chinese books published this year were available on the shelves of public libraries, with 2 being “Values Education Learning Circle Teaching Collection” published by the Education Bureau and “Safeguarding National Security: Legislative Interpretation of Article 23 of the Basic Law: Public Consultation Document” published by the Security Bureau; the rest were children’s comic books and picture books such as “Old Master Q Selected Edition.”
The report also pointed out that the number of Chinese books available for borrowing in public libraries, published in recent years, has been continuously declining. In 2021 and 2020, there were 12,339 and 14,113 Chinese books published and available for borrowing, respectively, while in 2022, there were 8,100, and in 2023, there were only 3,057.