(1 August 2018) Renowned Hong Kong author Dung Kai-cheung has penned a satirical post asking the authorities to withdraw his 2014 “author of the year” title after Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s latest novel was classified as “indecent” by the city’s Obscene Articles Tribunal.
Killing Commendatore, published in 2017, was put into the second tier of a three-tier classification system, meaning it cannot be sold to underage persons and must be kept in a wrapper that bears a legal warning.
Last month’s decision by the tribunal resulted in Chinese translations of the novel being pulled from the week-long Hong Kong Book Fair, and public libraries were banned from lending the book out to patrons under 18. The ruling prompted a public backlash and criticism of the assessment mechanism.
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