HK Censors Movies for National Security

The dystopian film Ten Years would be banned

 

The Hong Kong government has now focused its attention on censoring movies because of the national security law just to make things even worse for the local film industry.

Under the Film Censorship Ordinance, public screening of films will not be allowed if they are found to be "endorsing, supporting, promoting, glorifying or inciting" acts of subversion, secession, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces.

This documentary was nominated for an Oscar

Films like Ten Years, which was made in 2015 that speculated what would happen to Hong Kong in 10 years (and some of it already came true), would be banned from being screened.

The latest move would ban films like this as well as documentaries like the Oscar-nominated Do Not Split and Inside the Red Brick Wall that covered the 2019 anti-government protests would never be allowed to be shown in Hong Kong.

This kind of censorship was seen earlier with M+, the contemporary art museum due to open at the end of this year was under pressure to now show work deemed anti-China.

Apparently films will be censored by a panel of 40 people appointed by the chief executive. They will review the films and then classify them based on depictions of sex, violence, crime, or any insult to race or religion, among other concerns.

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The censorship guidelines are developed by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.

While Tenky Tin Kai-man, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers says movie professionals will need to seek clarification of the guidelines by the authorities, he said filmmakers would make sure they are not crossing any red lines if they wanted their movies to be shown across the border.

Crucindo Hung Cho-sing, chairman of the Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association, said it would be in the best interests of filmmakers to not touch sensitive topics as their livelihoods are at stake.

"But I believe filmmakers in our association aim to make money. They definitely won't make movies endangering national security," he said.

This protest documentary will also be censored

Grace Leung Kai-kuen, a lecturer at Chinese University's school of journalism and communication, said few movies had been banned in the past, and if they were it was because it was related to pornography.

She worries this latest censorship salvo will further weaken the local film industry.

"Hong Kong movies are already dying. With this, it will worsen their challenges," she said.

Leung noted some local movies carried more critical perspectives than mainland ones.

"Now they will be the same," she said.