A company that uses a Hong Kong print shop exposes itself to Chinese censorship, no matter where the books will be distributed. Penguin Random House found that out when it had The Penguin New Zealand Anthology printed in Hong Kong. The printing company, not named in the article, told the publisher it couldn’t print the book because it had the words “first Republic of China” and “Taiwanese flag.” The publisher said it used the Hong Kong printer because of special format requirements that no one in Australia or New Zealand could meet.

By Chinese law, Taiwan does not exist as an independent nation, and saying otherwise is forbidden.

The book was printed with the offending words redacted. Any company that cares about a free press should not use a printer that has to bow to China’s government.