A student union at a Hong Kong university has cancelled the screening of a Burmese film set in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, citing a last-minute government warning that hosting the event may break the law.
The New Asia College Students’ Union (NASU) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) abruptly cancelled the screening of the Burmese-language film “MA – Cry of Silence” on Wednesday evening.
The 2024 movie, directed by Burmese The Maw Naing, touches on the issues of labour rights and women’s rights in Myanmar.
In a statement issued after midnight on Thursday, NASU said it had received an email from the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) shortly before the event.
According to NASU, OFNAA received a complaint that the film had not received a licence for a public screening and the group might risk violating the law if it went ahead with the event.
NASU said it received the email at 6.01pm and immediately called OFNAA for clarification, but the call did not go through because the office’s service hours ended at 6pm.
“It was less than two hours from the moment we received the email to the start of the event. Due to the insufficient time to clarify the law and to avoid running afoul of the law, [NASU] eventually decided to cancel the screening,” the student union said in the statement, which was posted to Instagram.
NASU added that the event was only intended for registered CUHK students and staff and that the film had been screened publicly last year during the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (HKAFF).
A post-screening talk with CUHK journalism professor Francis Lee about social movements in Myanmar and Hong Kong was held as planned.
NASU also said it had purchased the right to screen the film for HK$5,000, which required them to show the film by Wednesday, therefore it was unable to reschedule the event to a later date.
In an emailed reply to HKFP on Thursday, OFNAA confirmed that it had received a complaint alleging the film did not have a permit for public screening and that the office had launched an investigation.
Hong Kong’s Film Censorship Ordinance states that a film needs to obtain a “certificate of approval” in order to be screened publicly.
“According to our records, OFNAA had issued a certificate of approval to the HKAFF regarding the film ‘MA – Cry of Silence.’ The screening of the film was limited to specific dates and specific venues in November 2024,” OFNAA wrote to HKFP in Chinese.
The office said that it emailed NASU to remind them that the screening must comply with the law and that the student union should consult legal advice regarding such compliance.
Hong Kong festival screenings
“MA – Cry of Silence” had at least three screenings during the HKAFF last November, according to the film festival’s website.
“Set amidst the ongoing Myanmar Civil War, this urgent drama depicts a young woman whose sudden hardships spur her intellectual and political growth,” read the film’s description on the HKAFF’s website.
“After losing her parents to wartime chaos, 18-year-old Mi-Thet takes a job in a garment factory to earn a living for her young siblings. Reluctant to join a brewing labor strike, Mi-Thet enters the fray once she realizes that she and her sisters-in-arms must take action to ensure their rights as women.”
Myanmar has been engulfed in a civil war since a military coup seized power from the democratically elected government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, in 2021.
Student organisations at Hong Kong’s universities have been under pressure from the universities’ management to register as independent societies. Some student unions have halted operations or resigned collectively.
The Student Union of the CUHK has been inoperative since March 2021 after the university severed ties with the union, demanding it to register as an independent body and assume legal responsibility for itself.
But CUHK continues to have college student unions – including NASU – due to its nine-college system.
