MARCH 15 2021
In light of recent developments in Hong Kong and their impact upon our upcoming book Open Secret: Hong Kong Since the Umbrella Movement, we thought it necessary to make a statement.
As you may or may not be aware, the 47 pro-democracy lawmakers who were arrested under the National Security Law at the end of February were recently charged. Of these 47, 16 were granted bail, and many forced to swear that they would not speak to any form of media about the political situation. These include Professor Benny Tai and Jeremy Tam, both of whom had previously written contributions for Open Secret. We remain uncertain as to the right course of action and will be seeking legal advice, however for now it is unclear if their work will be included in the collection.
Despite these tragic events, we will continue to work on Open Secret. We have been assured by the book’s editors that they wish to continue, and their continued passion and dedication to the cause shows us that this is the correct way to respond. However, due to the uncertainty and the intense pressures upon the book’s editors, we have no choice but to delay the book’s original publication date of June 4 2021. We will endeavour to complete it as soon as possible, and will confirm a new publication date as and when we know.
For more updates on the events in Hong Kong, follow Hong Kong Free Press (@HKFP) and Studio Incendo (@studioincendo).
