The Works：Publishing freedom in light of the diappearance of five booksellers, Tribue to David Bow

For many music fans, 2016 got off to a good start, with David Bowie releasing his latest album “Blackstar”, on his 69th birthday just last Friday. But the good start didn’t last. Just two days later, according to a note posted on social media sites on Sunday David Bowie “died peacefully … surrounded by his family, after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer.” In part two of the show we’re paying tribute to the man Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Major Tom, The Thin White Duke, and the musician behind the personas.
But before that, the disappearance of five individuals connected to a bookshop in Causeway Bay that sells books critical of the Chinese leadership has sparked a public outcry, not only in Hong Kong but worldwide. Among others, the United Nations, Sweden and the United Kingdom have expressed their concerns. One of the disappeared is a citizen of Sweden, the other of the UK. Press and media censorship is a common act, particularly in the more authoritarian regimes. In mainland China, books almost invariably go through censors before publishing, and you have to go to Hong Kong, Taiwan, or elsewhere overseas to find uncensored versions. Singapore has an authority that censors the press, publications, and art for political, racial and religious issues in the name of multi-racial harmony.
A popular motif in Chinese and Japanese art, the fish symbolises prosperity, luck and longevity. A leaping carp or koi is an image of persistence and perseverance. It’s a symbol that’s close to the heart of ceramic artist Joey Leung. At the Giant Year Gallery until the end of February the exhibition “Wandering” showcases his fishes with a modern twist.
David Bowie ended his career on a high note, not only with a co-written musical play based on “The Man Who Fell to Earth” on the stage in New York but also with his 25th studio album “Blackstar”, released on his 69th birthday last Friday. The album’s as complex, musically and lyrically, as anything he has ever done, and while those lyrics had already been considered somewhat dark and elliptical, news of his long illness and death on Sunday added a new layer to their meaning. Music lover and critic Wong Chi-chung is here to share his thoughts and memories of David Bowie. And we’ll end tonight with a few clips The Works shot of David Bowie’s March 2004 Hong Kong concert.