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Challenging celebratory histories of the British legal regime in Hong Kong, this book uses archival sources to revisit political censorship. It shows that censorship was pervasive for much of the colonial period and offers a new perspective on how Hong Kong became a city that championed free speech by the late 1990s.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Punitive censorship and libel lawsuits against the press; 2. "Reading every line": Era of the daily vetting of newspaper proofs; 3. "Communist China now contiguous to Hong Kong": Censorship imposed by the "free world"; 4. "Patriotism to you can be revolutionary heresy to us": Hardened control of media, schools and entertainment; 5. Preparing to negotiate with China: Overt loosening and covert control; 6. Liberating Hong Kong for China: De-silencing the city; Conclusion and Epilogue; Glossary of Chinese Newspapers; Index.
About the author
Michael Ng is Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong and has published widely on the legal history of China and Hong Kong in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He has been appointed as visiting fellow of the University of Cambridge, visiting scholar of the University of Melbourne and the National University of Singapore, and visiting Associate Professor of National Taiwan University. He was a founding officer and executive committee member of the International Society for Chinese Law and History.
Summary
Challenging celebratory histories of the British legal regime in Hong Kong, this book uses archival sources to revisit political censorship. It shows that censorship was pervasive for much of the colonial period and offers a new perspective on how Hong Kong became a city that championed free speech by the late 1990s.
Foreword
Uses archival sources to examine censorship in British Hong Kong and challenge congratulatory histories of the British legal regime.
