T-shirts with pro-democracy message seized in Hong Kong

HONG KONG - Customs officers in Hong Kong were Saturday accused of censorship for staging a raid to seize T-shirts that poke fun at a pro-China political party.

More than 100 of the T-shirts that mimicked the logo of the pro-China Democratic Alliance were seized from the stall of a pro-democracy group at a Lunar New Year fair Friday.

Around 1,000 of the T-shirts, which parody pro-China politicians as being “shameless”, had already been sold for $8 each to raise money for the city’s pro-democracy movement.

Stall holders accused customs officers of censorship and of acting with political motives. However, customs officials insisted they were simply acting over a trademark violation of the party’s logo.

No one was arrested in the raid that followed a complaint to customs officers by members of the Democratic Alliance who were offended by the T-shirts.

The raid came amid a fierce debate over the pace of democratisation in the former British colony, which has had limited democracy since reverting to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Five pro-democracy legislators resigned in January to force by-elections that they say are to be a de facto referendum on universal suffrage in the city of 7 million.