【VOP查禁事件報告】

親愛的讀者，

昨天我們收到消息，這幾日中國的「文化市場執法總隊」人馬前往有售VOP的各地書店據點突擊檢查，並查扣了我們的雜誌。其中目前所知最為嚴重的，是一家有售VOP等獨立刊物的網路書店在事件發生後被強迫關閉，網站目前被整個撤下，無法連上。執法總隊查扣雜誌的理由，雖然是以書店未透過經銷進口的合法渠道為由抄走「非法」雜誌，但我們認為官方動作顯然是針對VOP當期的抗議影像主題而來，特別是日前經銷商在從香港進中國時，VOP即因涉敏感因素遭到海關全數查禁，而隨後在中國淘寶網多個有售VOP的不同店家，當期雜誌也全都不約而同地被移除下架。經銷商同時也再度告知我們，目前舖貨的實體與網路書店都已將VOP下架，公司還要配合調查，且因為中國的出版品管制禁令，往後都無法向我們採購雜誌，書店也將無法上架VOP。

我們對於中國官方查抄書店感到非常憤怒，並深深感覺到我們在出版工作上受到極為實際的壓迫。對於中國官方的查禁行動、干預與間接打壓，我們再次嚴正抗議，並需要我們的讀者和關心出版及言論自由的朋友們對於此一文化事件的持續關注。感謝大家一直以來對於這份刊物的支持。

Dear readers,

We received news yesterday that over the past few days, officials from China's “Cultural Law Enforcement Agency" has conducted spot checks on the bookstores that carry Voices of Photography. They have confiscated all copies of the magazine from the stores. In a more serious case, an independent online bookstore was forced to suspend its operations after the spot check, and their website was taken offline. The reason that the Cultural Law Enforcement Agency officials gave for confiscating the magazines was that the bookstores did not comply with the import regulations for the magazine. However, we feel that the actions were taken in response to our recent issue on “Protests, Activism and Images,” especially after the issue was banned from import at the Hong Kong customs, en route to China, due to its sensitive topic. Subsequently, many shops selling VOP on Taobao[China’s biggest online marketplace], removed the current issue from their stores. Our retailers told us that all physical and online stores have since removed VOP from their shelves, and they also have to assist in further investigations by the authorities. Moreover, due to China's publication regulations, they will not be able to import any magazine from us in the future, or to sell VOP in their stores.

We are enraged by the actions of the Chinese authorities and feel that we have been subjected to intimidation in our publication work. We once again voice our protest on the banning and confiscating of VOP in China, and hope that our readers and all who value freedom in publication and speech to continue to follow the latest developments on this matter. Thank you everyone for your support of VOP.
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Voices of Photography 攝影之聲
www.vopmagazine.com