Sino United Publishing

Sino United Publishing, full legal name Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Limited (Chinese:聯合出版（集團）有限公司), is Hong Kong's largest integrated publishing group, formed in 1988 from the integration of some of the historic publishing agency basis. Its business includes publishing, distribution, retail, printing, RFID packaging design, art business, cultural exchanges. It has subsidiaries and affiliated agencies throughout Hong Kong and Macao, mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, as well as in North America, Europe etc. Its Hong Kong subsidiaries include: Joint Publishing, Hong Kong Chung Hwa Book Company, Commercial Press Hong Kong, Wan Li Book Co, Sun Ya Publications, Tsikuchai and Joint Printing (Hong Kong) Limited.

Sino also invested resources to develop e-commerce and digital publishing business. Sino is based in Hong Kong, but has expanded in the overseas cultural market. The group aims to promote the Chinese culture, the responsibility to promote social progress.[1] In 2015, Next Magazine revealed that the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong had taken control of Sino United Publishing.[2]

History

The oldest part of the business, Commercial Press Hong Kong, commenced trading in 1914; Chongwa Hong Kong was started in 1927; Hong Kong Joint Publishing in 1948 by living bookstores, publishers and new knowledge bookstore reading merger made in Hong Kong. Joint Printing (Hong Kong) Limited in 1980 by the merger of two printers from China and business, and the two printers are the Hong Kong Commercial Press Printing Office, established in Hong Kong in 1924 and in 1933 Chongwa Kowloon established printing plant.

Schema of media control by the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong

A joint management office was established for Joint Publishing, Chunghwa, Commercial Press Hong Kong in 1980. In September 1988, the joint management office was reorganised under Sino United Publishing as a holding company, which wholly owns the three enterprises (Joint Publishing, Chunghwa, Commercial Press Hong Kong) and some other publishing companies.[1][3] The group has an 80% share of the book publishing market.[1][4] It is Hong Kong's largest Chinese publishing group, and has 51 retail outlets in the territory.[1] In 2015, it was reported that Central Government Liaison Office, which already owns three newspaper titles, was in control of Sino United.[2][4]

Censorship controversy

In January 2015, following CY Leung's attack on a compilation book entitled Hong Kong Nationalism, Joint Publishing, Chongwa, and Commercial Press de-listed the title.[1] Hong Kong media reported that Sino had published and was distributing at least five anti-Occupy titles, and its stores were displaying these prominently, whereas popular books on the Umbrella movement by pro-democracy authors had been banished from their shelves.[5] In March 2015, Up Publications, a small independent publishing house, complained that it was suddenly and unexpectedly faced with a large number of returns from the three main subsidiaries of Sino.[6] Twenty titles were affected by the returns, to the serious detriment to the finances of Up Publications; many of the titles returned were not politically themed. The publisher was allegedly told by a bookshop source that its stance in the 2014 occupation and its publishing of books supportive of the Umbrella Movement were responsible.[1] Although no reason was given for the returns, two of the delisted books about the occupation were strong sellers at independent bookshops.[1][6] Students staged a "read-in" of delisted books outside the Commercial Press on the campus of the Chinese University to draw attention to the marginalisation of independent books, and urging the public to independent booksellers in the city instead of subsidiaries of Sino.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lam, Jeffie (8 March 2015). "Hong Kong book giant in censorship row after returning title". South China Morning Post.
  2. 1 2 Betsy Tse (9 April 2015). "Basic Law violation seen as LOCPG tightens grip on HK publishers". EJ Insight.
  3. ↑ "旗下出版社出書抹黑佔領". Apple Daily (in Chinese). Hong Kong. 9 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "中聯辦掌控聯合出版集團 擁三大書局兼壟斷發行　議員指涉違《基本法》". Apple Daily (in Chinese). Hong Kong. 9 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Lam, Jeffie (8 March 2015). "Beijing 'behind new wave of anti-occupy books'". Publishing – South China Morning Post.
  6. 1 2 "Book publisher says it's being targeted by China-linked sellers". EJ Insight.
  7. ↑ "中大生商務印外　快閃讀傘運「禁書」". 立場新聞 Stand News (in Chinese).

External links

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