The New Macau Association held a photography exhibition yesterday afternoon at Tap Seac Square in cooperation with the editorial committee involved in the preparation of a book that reportedly went missing during its printing process in mainland China last week.
The exhibition, which is expected to run for two weeks across the city, features detailed information about how the controversial top officials compensation bill proposed by the government triggered youth-dominated protests throughout the city. The protest culminated with an outraged congregation at the Legislative Assembly last May.
Yesterday’s event, which was supposed to be the presentation of the now missing book, was held on the first anniversary of the anti-bill march at the same venue where the demonstration started last year. Speaking of the political impact of the protest on the government over the past year, the author of the book, Sulu Sou, accused the mainland authorities of confiscating the tome, although the customs authority that oversees the Gongbei border denies the accusation.
Recalling the events of May 2014, he told the media that the officials seem to baulk at any activities that may be linked to the protest, like the book he wrote.
“[The book] reflected that the ‘anti-bill incident’ was still like a sting to the SAR government even though it has passed,” said the democracy advocate who was among the organizers of last year’s citywide march.
He continued: “We expected last year that the government would improve its manner in [governing the city], yet no salient changes have been observed. The authorities have grown even more unscrupulous.”
TDM reported last Friday that none of the mainland manufacturers received the publication for printing. However, according to the author, the statement that he issued later that night addressing the issue has ended up “nowhere” in the mainstream media. TDM aired a story the following day reporting the mainland customs officials’ denial of interference. But TDM reportedly censored Sou’s personal response to those claims. The author described all of this as “unacceptable.”
Since the media coverage of the alleged seizure last Friday, Sou has declined to reveal the name of the local publisher that processed his book’s publication, due to fears of a possible political retaliation from the government, which is also a major client of the printing firm.
The two-and-a-half-hour event saw a low turnout despite the presence of several political activists. Staff reporter
Another 1,000 books coming soon
Sulu Sou expects that another batch of 1,000 copies of his book could be released to the public at a new presentation next month. The editorial committee is planning to turn to publishers in Hong Kong for publication. In addition, Sou said that they are also considering electronic publication options following the authorities’ alleged interference.
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