Is the “Birth of Venus” Obscene’?”

A Hong Kong court to decide

Since the crackdown on Hong Kong last year, the Chinese national security law has been used to repress freedoms in many ways. One of the stranger instances is the recent refusal under the law to allow a jailed human rights activist to have a copy of an art book containing an image of the classic painting, The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli, under the assertion that it is obscene under the law. Now a court has allowed the prisoner to challenge it in court.

According to The South China Morning Post a landmark case that pits artistic freedom against censorship under the national security law, Hong Kong’s High Court has granted the activists, Owen Chow Ka-shing, the right to challenge a prison ban on a history book that contains the image.

This decision, announced by Mr. Justice Russell Coleman, propels forward a significant debate on the boundaries of freedom of expression within correctional facilities.

Owen Chow, currently detained at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre under national security charges, found his rights to artistic material restricted when the Correctional Services Department denied a request for him to receive a European history and culture book. The book was deemed to have “obscene material” due to the inclusion of Botticelli’s famous Renaissance painting. It was returned to the sender with a memo highlighting its ‘nudity’ content.

This decision by the Correctional Services Department has been met with criticism and legal challenge. Chow’s lawyers argue that the ban constitutes an excessive restriction on his constitutionally protected rights. They stress that neither the book nor “The Birth of Venus,” a globally celebrated artwork, could be perceived as inciting violence or disorder, or threatening the security of the correctional facility under the law.

Hong Kong, as a former British colony, is used to much broader freedom and has struggled repeatedly with government in Beijing.

The case illustrates the ongoing tensions between security measures under Hong Kong’s national security law and the rights to free expression and access to cultural and artistic materials.

Interestingly, three AI image generators refused to make an image to illustrate this article because of “inappropriate content” in other words, the request was censored.

ChatGtp, Bard and Mage wouldn’t make an image. Mage would have if I paid for a premium membership.