And today’s ban is…

Hong Kong’s Press Photographers Association cancels its 35th anniversary exhibition after Baptist University decides the exhibition gallery needs to be closed for ‘emergency maintenance’…

…the HKPPA said it had no choice but to axe the event, which opened on Tuesday and was originally set to run until December 8.

The exhibition took nine months to prepare and featured a selection of historical photographs and photo stories covering important moments in Hong Kong since the late 1980s to the present, the press group said.

Baptist U actually has a department of journalism, so is an ideal location for such an exhibition. But perhaps there are other considerations. Maybe ‘late 1980s’ is a clue, though there are quite a few subsequent important moments in Hong Kong a nervous university might worry about.

The HK Pride Committee scraps an outdoor festival at Kwun Tong Promenade…

In October, the committee said on social media that it “has been asked to postpone the outdoor ‘Rainbow Festival’ originally scheduled for November 29” after being notified that the venue had to undergo “urgent construction work” required by the Buildings Department

On Sunday, the organisers published a longer post saying that the outdoor event would be cancelled altogether.

According to the post, although Aquabeat, which operates the promenade event space, said the venue was unavailable due to government construction work, the Buildings Department later clarified that no such work was scheduled for that day.

Funny how places suddenly need work done on them at times like this.

An anonymous ‘patriotic group’ demands that the sale of merchandise for an LGBTQ dramatic production be stopped…

“…online posts still show your company assisting in producing and selling merchandise for We Are Gay. May we ask whether your company intends to continue opposing government actions and spreading anti-government sentiment?” it continued.

“We request that you immediately cease the production and sale of merchandise related to We Are Gay and stop promoting ‘soft resistance,’” it continued.

To be clear – the play itself had previously been cancelled just before it was due to appear at the West Kowloon Cultural District last month. And the HK Academy for Performing Arts scrapped a planned appearance by the playwright – a graduate of the school. Presumably the merch must be forbidden as well, just to be safe.

As well as official meetings with Japanese diplomats and a youth exchange trip to Japan…

Hong Kong superstar Ekin Cheng Yee-kin has been forced to scrap his long-awaited solo concert scheduled for next Friday, December 5, at a major Tokyo venue, with organizers citing an event outside of their control as the reason.

The sudden announcement, posted on the event’s social media on Tuesday, comes against a backdrop of escalating diplomatic friction between China and Japan.

And the government is considering banning two ‘subversive’ organizations. Few have heard of them, except perhaps in previous government announcements denouncing them. RTHK adds…

The Security Bureau issued written notices to “Hong Kong Parliament” and the “Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union” on Monday to allow them to make representations as the security chief looks to exercise his powers under Hong Kong’s homegrown national security law to ban their operations in the SAR.

Tang said the two groups undermined the country’s constitution and the body of power of the SAR, having carefully considered all relevant information.

“In the event of the two organisations being formally declared prohibited, it would be unlawful for anyone to act as a member of these organisations, attempt to incite others to join them, participate in their activities, or provide assistance,” he said

Also banned: calling for a boycott of the LegCo election, of course.