It has become a new norm in Hong Kong that saw academic exchanges, book talks, exhibitions, banquets and events of similar kinds being cancelled at the 11th hour or even after they had already begun because of “urgent repairs” at those premises.

The latest case in point is the cancellation of a photo exhibition organised by the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA) at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) four days after it was inaugurated on Tuesday (Nov 18).

HKPPA, the city’s largest press photographers’ trade union, announced late Friday night they received a notice from the university, saying they would not be able to provide the venue because the exhibition hall needed “urgent repairs.”

The association said they decided to cancel the exhibition in view of a number of uncertain factors, adding it would be difficult to find another site for a large-scale exhibition in the short-run .

The best images that tell the story of Hong Kong

Entitled “On the Scene,” the exhibition marking the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the association has been organised for nine months. It featured a selection of news pictures of Hong Kong since the 1980s.

The exhibition kicked off at an exhibition hall in the Lee Shau Kee Communication and Visual Arts Building in HKBU’s Kowloon Tong campus.

It would have been a meaningful and appropriate venue for showcasing the works of photo-journalists given the university’s journalism school is one of the oldest cradles of journalists.

Against the background, it could not be more saddening and disappointing that there is no place, at least for now, for an exhibition of the best images that tell the story of Hong Kong in the last half a century due to “urgent repairs”.

The HKPAA said on social media the cancellation is a “big loss” in promoting the profession and the future development of photojournalism.

A picture tells a story. News pictures tell the story of the city, which helps nurture a sense of identity and belonging in the society. It is indeed a big loss to society as a whole.

People tend to accept it as a normal feature

The ordeal of the HKPPA is seemingly yet another episode of the story of sudden unavailability of venues for events that had caused unease at the corridors of power.

In October, a scheduled talk by award-winning Hong Kong playwright Candace Chong Mui-ngam at the Chinese University’s Sir Run Run Shaw Hall was cancelled after the organising department said the university “was unable to provide a venue” without elaboration.

In June, a forum on eco-tourism organised by Green Peace scheduled to be held at another venue at the CUHK had to be switched to an online platform after they were told by the university the venue needed to have “urgent repairs.” An online media later reported their reporter found there were no repair works during their visit to the premises.

Over the past few years, the Democratic Party, now in the process of disbandment, and the Hong Kong Journalists Association faced difficulties in renting a venue for a group dinner. The Democrats had had their bookings for dinner at restaurants invalidated shortly before they were scheduled to be held because of “refurnishing works”. In one case, they were told the restaurant could not provide the dinner because of a brawl that involved the chefs.

The mysteries, assuming there is, behind the intriguing problem of “urgent repairs” of venues ranging from restaurants to halls at universities have remained as they were. And increasingly, people tend to accept it as a normal feature of the new Hong Kong. Never mind how abnormal it is.

Could not possibly be all isolated cases

There is no evidence showing the premises in universities and eateries are too old to require frequent repairs and, at times, in an urgent manner.

What is perhaps nearer to the truth is that certain individuals and groups have been on the list of could-be sources of trouble in the eyes of the authorities and, also importantly, targets of complaints to the authorities.

To avoid trouble and play safe, universities and restaurants which have been providing venues for events may not want to have any connection with those who were deemed as trouble-makers. And if they had already offered a venue, just cancel it as soon as possible. Never mind how embarrassing and ridiculous it is.

Precisely what happened behind the scenes is unclear. Superficially, they could not possibly be all isolated cases. When more and more cases of the similar kind happen one after another, sceptics could be pardoned if they feel adamant the crackdown against “soft resistance” may have gone to the extreme, needlessly precipitating fears and disrupting normal life in the society.

▌ [At Large] About the Author

Chris Yeung is a veteran journalist, a founder and chief writer of the now-disbanded CitizenNews; he now runs a daily news commentary channel on Youtube. He had formerly worked with the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Economic Journal.