Hong Kong drama groups struggle with red lines as shows axed

Theatrical and awards events hosted by at least four organisations and student groups have been axed so far this year, sparking fears in the performing arts community and anguished debate over where the “red lines” now run.

The sector depends heavily on government and charity funding. But for those who work in it, many of whom are freelance or self-employed, the cancellations came as little surprise, following a wave of crackdowns since China imposed a sweeping security law on the city in 2020.

On March 23, Hong Kong enacted its own security legislation, which covers five types of crime, including treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, with some offences punishable by life imprisonment.

In a response to HKFP as to whether the cancellations would impede the goal of promoting Hong Kong as a global arts and cultural hub, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, which leads the LCSD and ADC, said the government had reserved HK$7.31 billion for driving the development of arts, culture and creative industries, and hosted over 5,400 performances in venues under the LSCD over the past 12 months.

“Hong Kong remains a free and open society with ample opportunities for the development of arts and culture…The individual cases referred to have already been explained clearly by responsible parties,” the bureau said. 

The LCSD told HKFP that hiring applications will be considered based on factors such as “the artistic merit of the proposed event, the organising ability of the applicant and the track record of the activities and programmes organised by the applicant organisation.”

Kenneth Chan Ka-lok, associate professor in the Department of Government and International Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the lack of transparency in the reasons behind the cancellations of venues and funding would lead to the whole of society “second-guessing” where the red lines lay, and gradually self-regulating.

“There is no need to tell you how to behave; you can judge by yourself,” Chan told HKFP in Cantonese, adding that the situation was unfair to artists and “lacks the most basic respect and protection for cultural work.”

No chance of defence

A joint statement issued by the Hong Kong Theatre Arts Practitioners Union (HKTAPU) and the HKFDS in February called on the Education Bureau to clarify how to verify and fact-check complaints about performances to avoid misjudgement. It questioned whether there was any way for those impacted to provide clarification or a defence.

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Chan Wing-yip, internal vice-president of the HKTAPU and street dancer, said many art groups are willing to sign the declaration letter to rent school venues. He urged the bureau to define what was allowed, “or else we would be perpetually trying to grasp the red lines, resulting in limiting what we wish to say to the minimum,” he told HKFP in Cantonese.

In a response in Chinese to HKFP’s enquiry as to whether there is a mechanism for complainants to submit a clarification or defence, the Education Bureau said schools must follow up “in accordance with their school-based complaint handling mechanisms and procedures” and notify the Bureau, “which will take appropriate follow-up actions based on the circumstances.”

In case of severe complaints, the bureau shall handle it “with prudence” and “directly intervene in the investigation.” The individual or group could appeal to the bureau if they did not accept the results of the bureau’s investigation, it said.

Gum Cheng, part of an U.K.-based artist duo with his wife Clara Cheung called C&G Artpartment, told HKFP in Cantonese that the key to fostering a healthy ecosystem for the arts was to establish an appeal system for artists to defend themselves in the face of complaints. 

“An international city must allow critical voices to be heard, but it’s beyond my wildest guess [why] these voices are no longer allowed,” Cheng said, referring to the show cancellations.

If controls continue to tighten, Cheng said the restrictions in artistic freedom would drag Hong Kong arts “back to the way it was before 1997 – homogeneous, lacking in critical voices.”

‘Every performance is a gamble’

Jason Wong is a choreographer and instructor of Fun Forest, a dance group consisting of members with hearing impairments. Its three community dance shows scheduled for March were called off. 

There was speculation online that the sponsor, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), cancelled the performances after claims that Wong previously taught people to perform the 2019 protest song Glory to Hong Kongin sign language. But the club said it had “no direct involvement in the project” aside from being the funder, and the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, which was helping to put on the shows, said they were dropped due to “changes in production arrangements.” 

While other Fun Forest members, who had rehearsed for more than a month, called the cancellation “unfair,” they were determined to continue performing, Wong told HKFP with the assistance of sign-language translation.

But the incident has deterred Wong from applying for government funding for future shows. His upcoming project is a self-funded music video that aims to spread positivity through a sign-language dance he has choreographed. Instead of Hong Kong, he will expand to Asia for other collaboration opportunities. 

“I hope the government can pay more attention to minority groups, give them more chances and a platform to express themselves,” Wong said. 

Daisy, a 33-year old actor based in Hong Kong who asked to use a pseudonym, said the arts sector relies heavily on government funding or support from charities like the HKJC.

In the 2022-23 financial year, the HKJC Charities Trust disbursed a total of HK$7.3 billion to 247 charity and community projects. It does not provide a breakdown for how much of this went to the arts, but has been supporting the Hong Kong Arts Festival since its launch in 1973, providing it with an average of HK$7 million annually.

Daisy said there had been at least one instance in which artists, who might have been deemed to have crossed the red line on social media, were “advised” by personnel who have knowledge about the funding, to change their titles from creators to other non-creative roles in the team, or be removed from the official team list altogether, as a way of securing the grants for the art show proposal.

“Many of us feel helpless and miserable, but this is the only way to do it,” Daisy told HKFP in Cantonese. “Everyone’s developed a much stronger awareness in dodging potential crises since the passage of the security law.”  

Daisy has checked her own social media and restricted access to it so that it won’t sabotage her own creative chances. 

She said she would automatically avoid certain topics, such as work that directly tackles Hong Kong’s past, because the city’s history is “inextricably linked to politics.” Previous allegories or metaphors such as “yellow umbrella” or “May 35th”, which allude to the protests and the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, were no longer subtle, but “overt similes.”

For her future creative direction, Daisy wants to focus on the deteriorating mental health of Hongkongers and explore ways to live well and survive under the new normal. She does not rule out leaving the city someday.

Louise, a playwright, producer and director who also requested a pseudonym, said artists must rely on themselves to test where the red lines run at the risk of losing funding, and she was unsure whether even topics like immigration could be considered as off limits. 

“Every performance is now a gamble,” Louise told HKFP in Cantonese. 

Recipients of funding from the ADC must take part in a national security law seminar organised by law firms,  Louise said. In a 2022 talk, Louise recalled that the lawyers only reiterated the law and “cited very few references from few existing legal cases” as reasons why they could not advise on what dramatic presentations were permitted. 

Over the past two years, the restrictions on renting performance venues have only scaled up, Louise said. As a producer, she was uncertain how to protect her artists.  “How do I know what is a show that could ’be based on malicious or unfounded allegations’ as per LCSD requirements? How should I advise the artist in setting limits when creating art? At what point do I stop the artist?” she said.

‘A sort of resistance’

Some performance artists have decided to go abroad to develop their careers. A 30-year-old actor, who used the pseudonym Kathryn, was shocked to learn that the latest performance by theatre troupe Fire Makes Us Human had been cancelled. The choreographer, Alex Tong, is her former co-worker.  

“Previous times I have read the news, it was someone’s film got censored or someone’s film didn’t make it through the cut, and it seemed a bit further removed. So when it happened to someone that I actually know, it really shook me,” Kathryn said.  

Kathryn, who completed a drama degree in London, will stay and develop her career there. As a Hongkonger on the Western stage, Kathryn said it’s “embodying a sort of resistance” because “Hongkongers are so underrepresented in Europe.”

”Even if I’m standing on stage telling my story and it’s got nothing to do with the protests, it’s still political, because you’re letting someone underrepresented use their voice to tell their story,” she said.

While she refrains from self-censorship, Kathryn said she now mentions “facts instead of inserting judgement or feelings.”

Rather than seeking government funding, UK-based Cheng said it was crucial to tap new resources like smaller non-profit groups or crowdfunding, or focus on self-funded smaller projects. 

“This is the premise of not making compromises to self-censorship,” Cheng said, who moved from Hong Kong to the U.K. in 2021. 

Mahina Wong, a drama and theatre arts student at the University of Birmingham, still hopes to return to Hong Kong. The recent incidents, she said, made her realise that creative artists and members of the theatre sector like herself needed to drive the industry. 

“How do we promote and remind government officials that theatre is one of the few art forms that reflect and demonstrate empathy, solidarity, and compassion to a pool of people? This needs to be discussed because the arts, something so precious, are dying,” Wong said.