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Chinese dissident writer Ma Jian arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, pledging to speak at the city's literary festival, while an important arts center that had retired from his reception had changed in his opinion.
The new Tai Kwun Arts Complex, which hosts the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, announced Thursday that it had canceled Ma's two protests after its director, Timothy Calnin, declared that he did not wish to not that it becomes "a platform to promote the political interests of any individual". .
Ma, whose books are banned in Mainland China, is expected to promote her latest novel "China Dream", a title that plays on the rhetoric of Chinese President Xi Jinping's national rejuvenation and described by the editor Penguin as "a scathing satire of totalitarianism ".
A replacement venue was also withdrawn on Friday as a result of growing concern over the disappearance of freedoms in the semi-autonomous city under an assertive China.
Calnin said Friday that the center had been reconsidered and that it would be hosting Ma, an alternative venue not having been found.
"Mr. Ma made public statements stating that his appearances in Hong Kong were novels and that he had no intention of using Tai Kwun as a platform to promote his personal political interests. ", said Calnin in a statement.
The organizers of the festival said they were "delighted" by this decision.
"The principles of freedom of expression and cultural expression are at the heart of our mission as an international literary festival," they said in a statement.
Ma had expressed concern at being banned from entering Hong Kong after British journalist Victor Mallet, a British national, was banned from entering the city on Thursday night.
But, speaking to reporters in the arrivals hall on Friday night, Ma said he was let pass without any question from the immigration authorities.
"For a writer, the most important thing is to focus on freedom of thought, including freedom of speech.For these two people, one is not a writer," he said. declared.
"The discussion must continue, even if only one Hong Kong wants to attend, even if only one reader wants to talk to me," he added, before Tai Kwun reconsidered his decision.
Ma blamed "an organization" over the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which runs Tai Kwun, for the initial decision.
"Just because a book is named" China Dream ", they do not allow us to hold the conversation, it's terrifying," he said.
– & # 39; Last trip & # 39; –
My husband lives in Hong Kong, which gives him the right to live and work in the city, but he said he entered with his British passport.
He described Hong Kong as his second home but said it would be his last visit.
"I do not even know if I will be gone when I walk the streets of Hong Kong tomorrow," he told reporters.
The city's publishing sector is trapped since five booksellers known for having printed headlines on which rumors speak of Chinese leaders disappeared in 2015 and resurfaced in detention on the mainland.
Since then, some of the bookstores selling banned works in China in Hong Kong have been closed and the chain stores have removed the titles from their shelves.
Last month, veteran journalist Mallet had already seen his work visa denied and had left Hong Kong, but he had been barred from doing so when he was trying to return for a short stay as a visitor.
British citizens are generally allowed to enter Hong Kong without a visa and are allowed to stay 180 days under the immigration rules.
The FT issued a statement Friday declaring that Mallet was "back in Hong Kong to finalize some professional and personal issues."
Public Safety Minister John Lee insisted on Friday that the decision to prevent Mallet from entering as a tourist had "nothing to do with freedom of life". expression and the freedom of the press ", but without revealing the reasons for it.
The government has given no explanation for the initial refusal to extend its visa, but it is widely accepted that this decision is related to Mallet's conduct of a speech by a pro-independence activist in Hong Kong at the Foreign Correspondents of the City (FCC), where he is the first vice president.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had requested the cancellation of the event.
The FT said on Friday that it had still not received any explanation regarding the initial visa refusal and was awaiting the outcome of an appeal.
The treatment of Mallet has been taken up by foreign governments and international rights groups.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association warned Friday against the "coup de gloire" for freedom of expression in the city, calling it "a dark week for freedom of expression in Hong Kong ".
Ma Jian, whose books are banned in Mainland China, is expected to promote her latest novel, "China Dream", described by the editor Penguin as "a stinging satire of totalitarianism"
The Financial Times reporter, Victor Mallet, has been denied entry into Hong Kong as a tourist after refusing to renew his work visa.
