A refusal by Eslite Corp (誠品) to screen a China Television System (CTS) documentary that includes footage of the Tiananmen Square Massacre might be yet another sign that the bookstore is avoiding becoming entangled in political issues due to Chinese pressure, critics said.
The documentary features footage of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, Taiwan’s Wild Lily Movement in 1990, the 2014 Sunflower movement and the “Umbrella movement” in Hong Kong in 2014.
The screening has been relocated to Spot Huashan.
Photo: Liu Li-ren, Taipei Times
CTS had originally arranged to screen the documentary at the Eslite Art House in Taipei on Tuesday next week and had arranged tickets for members of the board of state-sponsored Taiwan Broadcasting System (TBS), as well as other guests.
CTS said it was notified by Eslite just prior to signing the contract that the company would not be able to provide a location for the screening, as the political nature of the documentary clashed with the movie theater’s intended purpose to espouse art and the humanities.
TBS board member Tsai Tsung-lung (蔡崇隆) said Eslite’s self-censorship is a profligate waste of the nation’s freedom of speech and publication, which were secured with the blood and lives of many.
Eslite’s self-professed distance from politics is a farce, as CTS was simply renting the establishment and not asking the firm to host a Tiananmen Square Massacre-related event, Tsai added.
“If Eslite is afraid of China, say so; we don’t need its hypocrisy,” Tsai said.
Campaign for Media Reform executive Chiu Chia-yi (邱家宜) said that she was surprised at Eslite’s self-censorship and its refusal to screen the documentary.
Discussion of the Tiananmen Square Massacre has always been open and unrestricted in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Chiu said, adding that Hong Kong media outlets have visited Taiwan to report on a seminar regarding the incident.
There have been many seminars and meetings on the subject in Hong Kong as well, Chiu added.
The incident is not an isolated case of the bookstore chain practicing self-censorship since it expanded into China.
In June 2014, the company pulled books about human rights in Tibet from the shelves of its Hong Kong store.
As a result of employees speaking out against its removal of the books, Eslite reportedly introduced a clause in its employment contract forbidding its employees to voice or write detrimental commentary about company policies.
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