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Funny how 1 data point can be extrapolated to make such a bold claim (best cities for X). Hong Kong is a terrible place for book lovers. - I think almost all t
by metaphorical 10y ago
Funny how 1 data point can be extrapolated to make such a bold claim (best cities for X). Hong Kong is a terrible place for book lovers.
- I think almost all the bookstores are not profitable, many of them closing down (especially the independent "second-floor" ones", ie not street-level stores). The book choices in mainstream bookstores are rubbish. (PageOne and Eslite slightly better.)
- 99% of the HK publishing houses are controlled by Chinese government by proxy. This imposes editorial censorship and determines which books will get promoted in the stores.
- If you publish or sell books that offend the CPC, you may be arrested in China with some false charges
- Generally speaking, most people in HK are not book lovers. If you visit Eslite (a Taiwanese chain), you'll see a large area of their store is devoted to lifestyle goods, not books.
Go to Taipei, go to Charing Cross in London, but don't go to HK for books.
- 11thEarlOfMar 10y agoYeah, it's pretty funny because Hong Kong bookstore owners find themselves kidnapped, locked up, interrogated and brain washed for months for selling books not to the liking of the CCCP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/17/complete-lawlessness-booksellers-dramatic-tale-spooks-hong-kong-underlines-concern-for-swede/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/17...
- dmd 10y agoI very much doubt the CCCP was involved.
- 11thEarlOfMar 10y agoCCCP is a correct acronym for the Chinese Communist Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Committee_of_the_Commu... The abductee claims, and Britain states, that the Chinese government, née communist party, was responsible. The books that the communist party found objectionable, and which led to the booksellers' abductions, contained gossip about the personal lives of party members.
- dmd 10y agoInteresting. I did not know that 'CCCP' was overloaded. Thanks! I cannot find any source other than you who claims that, however - can you?
- 11thEarlOfMar 10y agoI know a lot of people who live in Hong Kong. I visit there periodically. In vernacular parlance, they frequently say 'CCCP' when referring to the Chinese government. Or they just say 'Beijing'. So, granted, it's hearsay, so I'm happy to start using a different and more acceptable epithet for the Chinese government. Any suggestions?
- dmd 10y agoWell, the party is CPC. The Central Committee is abbreviated CC in Wikipedia, though that seems unofficial.
- contingencies 10y agoCounter-point: I always used to love the availability of Indian books on linguistics, philosophy and religion in Hong Kong. AFAIK this is genuinely unique in greater China as far as I know, with the possible exception of specialist stores in Taipei.