Foreign authors warned about book censorship in China

Books translated for the fast-growing Chinese market may be censored without their authors’ knowledge, a writers’ advocacy group reports: The Guardian

A US-based advocacy group is warning Western authors to be vigilant about censorship of their work, which is sometimes done without their knowledge, in China’s fast-growing book publishing industry.

A report on Wednesday from the PEN American Center says translated versions of foreign books may be expurgated because of political sensitivities about such topics as Taiwan, Tibet and the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters. But sexually explicit material and references to gay and lesbian issues are also frowned upon.

The report intends to draw attention to how such censorship could affect writers outside China as it takes an increasingly prominent place in the global publishing industry. China will be the regional focus of this year’s BookExpo America in New York next week, with a delegation of hundreds of state writers and publishers.

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Zafar Anjum

I am a writer based in Singapore.

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