What the new security law in Hong Kong means for artists

Hong Kong Skyline -Wikimedia Commons

Hong Kong once had a thriving arts scene and cinema industry. No more. The draconian security law introduced by the repressive, authoritarian commissars who reign over Communist China means that anyone “dissing” or being perceived to diss the regime will find themselves being marched off to jail with little or no recourse to justice. Communists will be Communists and it’s what they’ve always done. Especially with artists. Artists and intellectuals are the favourite sport to be hunted down by these regimes. You can’t expect a leopard to change its spots. Many artists aren’t going to hang around to find out. They’ve fled either to London or Taiwan.

Among them are Lumli and Lumlong, both 43, who fled to London in May 2021, after a visit from the police. They’ve even tried to track them down and threaten them in London, that’s how brazen these Commies are, sending a couple of “journalists” to the artists London show. Their social media accounts were hacked.

The Taipei Times reports that other artists have fled to Taiwan to make a new life for themselves there. “I feel sorry for artists who stay in Hong Kong,” says Kacey Wong, who left for Taiwan in 2021. “Their minds must be spinning so fast. They censor themselves.”

As Art Basel is about to open in Hong Kong, it will be interesting to see if the regime’s censors manage to keep their grubby little paws off the exhibitors. It has been a lucrative venue and market for Art Basel up to now but for how much longer? Henry Tang, the head of the West Kowloon Cultural District has ominously stated “it does not mean that artistic expression is above the law. It is not.” Kacey Wong commented that those who choose to stay in Hong Kong will have to go underground in order to sustain the resistance. It will take very brave people to do that.

Meanwhile, we have our own problems here with “cancel culture” and censoring of free speech to avoid hurt feelings or offence. As one may have noted, the censors operate in similar ways to their Communist Masters. They fall just short of disappearing artists in gulags, imprisoning them or torturing them. But that’s coming in the not too distant future.

March 2024.

Hong Kong, China, Art Basel, Taiwan.