Event Summary
In 26 October 2025, sales platforms and production partners of cancelled play “We Are Gay” received complaint letters from an anonymous “enthusiastic patriotic organisation” demanding immediate cessation of merchandise production and sales, claiming such activities “continue opposing government actions and spreading anti-government sentiment.” Written in simplified Chinese, the letter accused playwright Candace Chong of being an “anti-government figure” and stated the sender had filed reports to national security authorities and state-backed newspapers Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po. The production team had launched merchandise sales on October 22 to pay affected workers’ salaries following the October 18 cancellation by West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. By October 27, sales platforms stopped merchandise sales due to the complaints. On October 29, all partner organizations received similar complaint emails or letters claiming that assisting in producing or selling “We Are Gay” merchandise “equates to opposing the government and spreading hatred,” threatening they would be reported. On October 30, Chong resigned from Hong Kong Theatre Association executive position, stating “my speech only represents myself, now even more unrelated to any production, institution, or organization” and “I am free.” On November 17, Chong shared the letter publicly, describing the campaign as “Hong Kong-style Cultural Revolution” and comparing it to her father’s experience as a traditional theatre director jailed for four years during mainland China’s Cultural Revolution, stating “they could pin any charge and hang up a sign, and beat someone to death without a trial.” She noted half the play discusses a family that immigrated from mainland China to Hong Kong and their thirty-year relationships and support for mainland relatives, based on her own family history.