New Security Laws Threaten Hong Kong's Vibrant Arts Scene

Boasting a vibrant arts scene, Hong Kong had until recently been a showcase for diversity of expression as the residents of the former British colony enjoyed an array of freedoms even after its handover to China in 1997, Caroline Tam reported for Kyodo News.

Photo Insert: Critics accused the M+ management of censorship after it announced it would not display a series of photographs by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Artists and filmmakers in Hong Kong, however, are now under threat as authorities enacted a sweeping national security law in 2020 and a revised film ordinance in 2021, doing away with the city's once-guaranteed freedoms of speech and expression.

On Nov. 12, Hong Kong welcomed the opening of the M+ museum, a long-awaited project that marked the city's efforts to establish itself as a global hub for arts and culture amid mounting concerns of censorship.

Touted as "Asia's first global museum of contemporary visual culture," the 65,000-square-meter giant houses 33 galleries featuring over 48,000 pieces of art from across the globe and is expected to rival both the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Despite its highly anticipated arrival after nearly two decades in the making, reception to the M+ has been a mix of excitement and disappointment as critics accused museum management of censorship after it announced it would not display a series of photographs by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

One particular photograph titled "Study of Perspective: Tian'anmen" portrays Ai raising his middle finger at the Tiananmen Square Gate in Beijing where student-led protests calling for democracy were crushed in 1989. The piece was met with criticism after a media preview in March, with pro-Beijing politicians accusing it of "spreading hatred against China."

The M+ has since removed the photo from its official website. Behind this move was the national security law imposed by mainland authorities in June 2020 amid its crackdown on dissent in the city following pro-democracy protests in 2019. The law criminalizes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.

The city already witnessed the effects of the law on press freedom earlier in 2021 as pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily folded after a 26-year run, succumbing to mounting pressure from Chinese and Hong Kong authorities as its senior editors and executives were arrested.

Henry Tang, chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority that manages the M+, encouraged the public to view the art "with an open and inclusive attitude" and assured that the museum would "uphold and encourage freedom of artistic expression and creativity" so long as it abides by the law.

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