{
  "id": 9712099,
  "title": "Questioning Hong Kong’s lack of a banned book list is ‘soft resistance’ – outgoing nat. security police chief",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/questioning-hong-kongs-lack-of-a-banned-book-list-is-soft-resistance",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-25T05:56:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hong Kong Free Press",
    "slug": "hong-kong-free-press-hongkongfp",
    "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/09/25/questioning-hong-kongs-lack-of-a-banned-book-list-is-soft-resistance-outgoing-nat-security-police-chief/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Outgoing Hong Kong national security police chief Andrew Kan has warned that questioning the government's refusal to disclose a banned book list is a form of \"soft resistance.\" Speaking in an interview before stepping down as Deputy Commissioner of Police (National Security), Kan defended raids on bookstores and the subsequent arrests of staff earlier this year, stating they were not an abuse of power. He reiterated that the national security legislation outlines clear definitions of illegal acts.\n\nIn July, Hong Kong's national security police conducted raids on two independent bookstores, arresting five individuals on suspicion of sedition and seizing books with alleged \"seditious intention.\" Kan argued that questioning the lack of a banned book list or unclear red lines for seditious content exemplifies \"soft resistance,\" a term coined by Luo Huining, a liaison officer in Beijing, in 2021. The police chief emphasized that \"soft resistance\" is considered the \"most malicious\" threat to national security in Hong Kong.\n\nFollowing the bookstore raids, one of the businesses, Have a Nice Stay, announced its closure due to financial difficulties and \"unclear red lines.\" The bookstore cited the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes legal or illegal book content as a reason for its decision. Kan advised bookstore owners and staff to read books before deciding to sell them or consult legal counsel, stating, \"If we release a list of banned books now, and a new illegal title is released the next day, people will question why arrests were made if it wasn’t on the list.\"",
  "summary": "Questioning why the government will not release a list of books banned in Hong Kong or specify where the red lines lie for seditious content is a form of “soft resistance,” the outgoing head of the police’s national security department has said. In an interview with select media outlets just before stepping down as Deputy […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
        "title": "Sai Kung’s Po Pin Chau trail fully booked ahead of upcoming holidays, as Hong Kong expects 1.3m mainland visitors",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/sai-kungs-po-pin-chau-trail-fully-booked-ahead-of-upcoming-holidays",
        "published": "2026-09-24T23:38:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}