Event Summary
On 13 January 2026, Book Punch owner Pong Yat-ming and parent company Active Experiential Learning Company appeared at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts charged with operating an unlicensed public entertainment venue under Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance. Yat-ming received this charge for hosting stand-up comedy class on 29 June 2025; alleging using the bookstore without license granted under the ordinance as public entertainment venue for “stage performances” – specifically “Standup 101 Third Class Graduation Performance” according to bookstore’s social media. Maximum penalties are HK$25,000 fine and six months imprisonment, plus HK$2,000 daily fine for continuing offence. Magistrate Byron Tsang adjourned case to March 3 pending prosecution documents.
This follows the 20 November 2025 charges against Yat-ming and company for operating unregistered school under Education Ordinance after hosting Spanish interest class on 23 April 2025. Those five charges: managing unregistered school, permitting unregistered teachers, carry maximum HK$250,000 fine and two years imprisonment, with his trial scheduled 11 March 2025. He pleaded not guilty to all Education Ordinance charges. Book Punch has faced systematic pressure since July 2025 with Wen Wei Po front-page attacks accusing bookstore of “soft resistance,” followed by anonymous complaints to Education Bureau and schools demanding blacklisting. In September, the bookstore revealed being forced to cancel multiple events over two months as speakers faced pressure from employers, universities, and funding bodies. The regulatory prosecutions weaponize Education Ordinance’s broad school definition (20+ people any day or 8+ simultaneously) and Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance to criminalize routine cultural programming demonstrates that authorities deploy multiple regulatory mechanisms targeting same independent cultural space.