Event Summary
On 18 September 2025, Hong Kong independent bookstore “Book Punch” revealed that it has been forced to cancel multiple events over the past two months due to anonymous and false complaints. The bookstore disclosed that complainants send emails to employers, universities, funding bodies, and award organizations threatening event speakers, resulting in top-down pressure forcing cancellations. In one case, a new book launch was cancelled and the bookstore was prohibited from selling the book after complaints reached the funding organisation.
Book Punch stated that five categories of people can no longer participate in their sharing events: professionals, university staff, funded project organisations, award recipients, and shops or service suppliers. This followed a July 21, 2025 front-page attack by pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po, after which schools received emails from “concerned citizen Ms. Zhang” urging Education Bureau Secretary Christine Choi to blacklist Book Punch. The complaint emails, sent to school principals’ associations and Hong Kong schools, accused the bookstore of selling books like “Jimmy Lai Biography” that “smear the government and National Security Law,” fundraising for the Journalists Association, and displaying QR codes for court coverage publications, claiming these constitute “soft resistance” challenging national security. Book Punch vowed to continue despite these pressures, while supporters like the “Migratory Bird” group (supporting prisoners and families) expressed solidarity.