Hong Kong: film censorship increases

Hong Kong movie posters.

In effect, the new law prohibits anything that the authorities consider to be secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.

ISAAC LAWRENCE AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Hong Kong tightened film censorship on Wednesday (October 27) by passing a law that allows authorities to ban earlier films threatening " 

 " and to impose more severe penalties for violations.

A new blow to the artistic freedoms of the city.

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The law adopted this Wednesday, October 27, by the Legislative Assembly of the city, a body now devoid of any opposition, empowers the authorities to revoke the screening license of any film deemed "

".

In fact, the text prohibits anything that the authorities consider to be secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.

In June 2021, the city had already announced that censors would check the content of all forthcoming films to make sure they did not violate the security law, but the new law allows the re-verification of all cinematographic works that had previously received the green light.

Three years in prison

The maximum penalties for showing a film without a license have been increased to three years in prison and a fine of 1 million Hong Kong dollars (112,000 euros). Film censorship inspectors can enter and search without warrant any premises suspected of showing unauthorized films. Securities deemed to pose a security risk will not be able to appeal through the usual channels, but will have to initiate judicial review proceedings in Hong Kong courts, a lengthy and costly process.

Pro-Beijing lawmakers have criticized the government for not including

online

companies

in the current wording, which means services like Netflix, HBO, and Amazon may not be covered by these new rules.

However, Commerce Secretary Edward Yau responded that all screenings, whether physical or online, were covered by the new National Security Act.

The new censorship rules bring Hong Kong closer to mainland China, where films are tightly controlled and only a handful of Western films or documentaries are released for commercial release each year.

Abandoned projects

Hong Kong has long had a thriving film scene, and for much of the second half of the 20th century, Cantonese cinema was world-class.

The city still has a few major studios, a handful of renowned directors and a promising indie scene, but new political red lines are drawn every month.

Since the June announcement, a director has announced that she has abandoned her project due to cuts demanded by censorship and another high-profile director has announced that she has sold the rights to a documentary on the recent protests to someone. overseas and got rid of all the original tapes in Hong Kong.

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