No Oscars or sensitive art spark Hong Kong censorship fears

HONG KONG (AP) — Decisions in Hong Kong not to display a politically sensitive photograph in a museum exhibition and not broadcast the annual Academy Awards for the first time in decades have prompted concerns that Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in the city is extending to arts and entertainment.

Hong Kong authorities have taken a tougher stance on opposition following Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on the city, arresting prominent pro-democracy activists and participants in anti-government protests in 2019.

The twin announcements on the Oscars and the photograph came as China's top legislature began deliberating a revamp to Hong Kong's election laws that would put more power in the hands of a committee dominated by Beijing loyalists.

Henry Tang, head of the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, said at a news conference Monday that there are no plans to exhibit a photo at the opening of the city’s new M+ museum by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei showing him holding up his middle finger at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

The decision prompted concern that the security law will not just be used to silence dissent but also to intervene in freedom of art and expression.

Tang dismissed suspicion that the museum was under pressure to remove the photo, saying there never were plans to include it.

“We have never planned for that photograph to be included in the opening exhibition, so there is no question that we have retracted it, or we have succumbed to pressure and have changed it,” Tang said.

“If any of our works or any of our actions contravenes any such law, I’m sure the law enforcement agencies will get in touch with us and we will co-operate fully with them,” he said.

Ai, the artist, was not immediately available for...