I covered Hong Kong for decades. Now I am forced to flee China’s ‘white terror’ | Steve Vines

After 35 years, the Observer’s former correspondent is leaving as what was once a haven of liberty and peace is transformed into a police stateWhen I arrived in Hong Kong in 1987 as the Observer’s south-east Asia correspondent, the foreign editor said he saw it as being a base, not the kind of territory that would generate much news but it was a safe place to be, communications were good and I was unlikely to have any visa problems. I thought I might stay a couple of years and move on. Thirty-five years later, I have, with great sadness, moved on and no one in their right mind can possibly assert that Hong Kong is a safe place for journalists.The white terror – the term used to describe the ruthless elimination of the opposition in Taiwan following the imposition of Kuomintang rule and more recently taken up by the opposition in Hong Kong to describe similar events in the city – is relentless, swooping down not just on journalists, but on prominent opposition leaders, teachers, lawyers and, recently, speech therapists who had the temerity to write a children’s book about sheep that dared to answer back; they have been charged with subversion. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-08-08 07:00:15 UTC ]
News tagged with: #hong kong #safe place #great sadness #children’s book

Other Publishing stories related to: 'I covered Hong Kong for decades. Now I am forced to flee China’s ‘white terror’ | Steve Vines'

Harry Potter gets all-new covers for paperback anniversary editions

Kazu Kibuishi, writer and illustrator of the 'Amulet' graphic novel series, created seven new covers for paperback editions of the 'Harry Potter' novels, to be released on the 15th anniversary of the series. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #kazu kibuishi #paperback editions #15th anniversary

Triple whammy forces indie bookshops to close

A number of independent bookshops are to close in the first quarter of 2013 ahead of the business... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent bookshops

Blonde 'Anne of Green Gables'? A new cover displeases loyal readers

A new book cover for the classic novel 'Anne of Green Gables,' showing Anne as a blonde without freckles lounging in a plaid shirt, has Amazon users up in arms. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #green gables #book cover

HCUK reports 'best December for a decade'

HarperCollins UK has reported its “best December for a decade” as News Corp posts... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins uk

When Creativity Takes A Wrong Turn: Lousy Book Covers

Aptly titled new Tumblr "Lousy Book Covers" collects the delightfully dubious achievements in jacket design. The book Spending Christmas With a Yeti is already at a marketplace disadvantage, what with that title, but then there’s the book cover. Oh boy, where to start. The real-life... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book cover #book covers #chip kidd #covers featured

China Will Never Be a Gold Mine for Western Publishers

Cultural differences aside, China's book market is itself largely a self-contained entity—politically, socially and, more importantly, economically. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gold mine #western publishers #cultural differences #book market

Apple readies iBookstore in Japan, faces fine in China

Apple plans to have 80,000 titles for sale on its iBookstore in Japan within a month,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Newsweek unveils last print cover

Newsweek, the 80-year-old US current affairs magazine, features a Twitter-style hashtag on the cover of its last ever print edition. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2012-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

China ‘investigating Amazon ebooks’

Chinese authorities have started investigating Amazon’s methods of selling ebooks in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #chinese authorities #selling ebooks

Amazon releases Kindle apps and ebooks into China

Amazon has started its Chinese Kindle incursion by launching the reader app for Android and iOS in that market, along with a large selection of ebooks. There's no mention of any Kindle devices like the Fire HD in the nation yet, but Amazon just did a similar launch in Brazil and said the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle devices #reader app #large selection #fire hd

HCCB searches for teen cover star

HarperCollins Children's Books is launching a new teen series with a hunt for its cover star... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins children #teen series

In China, 25 Million People Use Only Their Cell Phones to Read Books

Mobile reading may revive entire genres of literature, such as mid-length novels and poems, which have fallen out of favor. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cell phones #read books #mobile reading

Amazon forced to disclose UK sales

Amazon's UK net sales were £2.91bn in 2011, according to information the retailer has... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Daunt urges staff to cover Kindle push

James Daunt has said Waterstones booksellers must work harder to meet customers’ needs... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #james daunt #waterstones booksellers #work harder

Rights Market in China is Booming, But Complicated

At Frankfurt's annual Rights Directors Meeting, Wuping Zhao told the audience that Chinese publishers acquired rights to 15,592 foreign titles in 2011, up from just 1,664 in 1995. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rights market

India vs. China? To Publishers, India Wins

A rising middle class, looser regulations and ebook growth puts India ahead of China on many publishers agendas, says OUP's group strategist. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Interest Builds in 'The White House Boys'

A report by NPR about the history of abuse at Florida’s Dozier School For Boys that referenced Roger Dean Kiser’s The White House Boys: An American Tragedy has given a spark to sales of the three-year-old title. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Can a White Author Write Black Characters?

When a man routinely hailed as one of America’s “greatest living writers” publishes a new novel, one hardly expects it to draw reviews posing questions along the lines of “Can he do it? Can he actually pull it off?” Because when you’re Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winner, the act of writing a... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |