Two British publishers have censored books in order to have them printed in China, two people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
Picture-book publisher Quarto deleted references to Taiwan and Ai Weiwei, a dissident artist from Hong Kong, in two different publications. Another book was changed to refer to East Asian people in place of Taiwanese.
The same publisher in 2020 released a New York Times bestseller titled This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How To Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work.
The publisher Octopus Books has also reportedly removed references to Taiwan from at least two books. While the island nation of Taiwan views itself as an independent country, China has long maintained that it is inseparable from the mainland. China’s air force has repeatedly flown incursions into Taiwanese air space over the past two years.
Both publishers reportedly changed the text of certain books after Chinese suppliers said they could not print the original text under Chinese law. Books with especially sensitive material were reportedly printed outside of China.
Quarto denied changing the text of books upon request of the supplier, in comments to the Financial Times. A spokesperson said the company has “a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of our shareholders.”
Octopus Books also said any changes to texts “are not material and we always ask the permission of the author first to check they are comfortable to proceed.”
The report marks the first evidence that books sold in western nations are censored in order to be printed in China, according to the Times.
Multinational companies and organizations face various issues when operating in China, based on Chinese Communist Party’s censorship of subjects considered sensitive to the country. In one of the most recent examples, Chinese officials warned athletes competing at the Winter Olympics in February not to say anything “against the Olympic spirit.”
“Any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment,” Yang Shu, the Beijing Organizing Committee’s deputy director of international relations, told reporters.