Customs authority rebuffs claim over book confiscation

Sulu Sou

The customs authority that oversees the Gongbei border denied the accusation made by the president of the  New Macau Association, Sulu Sou, that the authorities have confiscated all his copies of politically sensitive publications, which were slated for their first public presentation today.
On Friday, the author held a press conference where he claimed that up to 1,000 copies of his new book were forfeited at the Hengqin border at the time of last year’s massive demonstration against a bill granting lavish pensions and compensation packages to the chief executive and outgoing major officials as they contained “sensitive content.” The confiscation has purportedly resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of patacas for a local manufacturer, which sent the whole volume to mainland China for some manufacturing procedures due to insufficient manpower and technology.
“Regarding the mainland authority’s behaviour, we feel regretful and disappointed. (…) The seizure itself also destroyed freedom of publication and speech,” said the political activist, adding it has sabotaged the “affection” between the mainland and local citizens. The 23-year-old demanded a forfeit and clarification on the officials’ part.
The Gongbei Customs District’ official denial of the alleged seizure came the following day. According to TDM, the authority did not discover any confiscation alleged by the association head, also one of the organizers for last year’s rally at the four checkpoints under their supervision.
Despite the speculated mainland interference, the author told media he would move forward to publish his books in electronic versions instead. Staff reporter