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Libraries in Hong Kong Are Restricting Access to LGBTQ Children's Books

Ten books with LGBTQ themes have been removed from public displays so that they can only be read under parental supervision.

One anti-LGBTQ group in Hong Kong has pulled 10 children's books with LGBTQ themes off the shelves of public libraries.

The books were hidden from public view after members of the Family School Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance Concern Group, an anti-queer advocacy group, complained to the government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) that the titles promoted homosexuality. Now, LGBTQ youth in Hong Kong will have to obtain parental permission to read books like Daddy, Papa, and Me or The Boy in the Dress at the library.

Brian Leung Siu-fai, chief operating officer of the queer advocacy group Big Love Alliance, says he's shocked by the decision: "The LCSD said they removed the books because of readers' complaints, but we know the people responsible are just one anti-gay rights group," he told the Hong Kong Free Press.

LGBTQ activists aren't letting the government get away with censorship, though. On June 25, activists from nearly 40 advocacy groups gathered outside a public library in Causeway Bay to protest the decision.

Even China's Equal Opportunities Commission, a government agency, questioned the move, claiming it creates "new limits on children’s access to books."

Though Hong Kong has a vibrant queer community, the region isn't always welcoming toward its LGBTQ residents. Just this month, government officials ruled that the husband of a male civil servant is not entitled to spousal benefits.

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