In recent years, a large number of books have been removed from public libraries, and some content has even been banned, putting Hong Kong's history and public memory in jeopardy.
In response to this, starting from early 2023, a group of Hong Kongers established ArchiveHK to organize and preserve Hong Kong's books, archives, and videos with careful principles, without charging fees, displaying advertisements, nor engaging in commercial activities. Hong Kongers who share this vision can contribute by reporting removed books, providing electronic files of endangered books and archives, or simply spreading the word, all of which are collective efforts to safeguard history.
Over the past year, our team has been actively organizing the list of books and files that were removed, and we have dedicated considerable time and manpower to classify, scan, and archive them. However, we are aware that our efforts are still just a drop in the ocean. To achieve greater results, more resources and collaboration from various sectors of society are needed.
In July 2024, ArchiveHK conducted its first content curation, with the theme "5th Anniversary of the 7.21 Yuen Long Attack". Noting that many important historical records have been taken down, such as Ryan Lau Chun Kong's "The Dark Night of Yuen Long," which is no longer available in public libraries. Besides, the investigative news feature "Who Controls the Truth of 7.21" of RTHK program "Hong Kong Connection", and the relevant reports from "Perspective 31" have also been removed from RTHK. To preserve history, ArchiveHK has backed up these critical materials, making them available for everyone to read, watch, download, and further back up during this curation.
Additionally, reports and subsequent features on the incident from the now-defunct Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News have also been organized and preserved, and were showcased in this curation.
With available resources, we plan to continue collecting, organizing, and preserving endangered books and archives. We aim to conduct content curation every month, allowing more people to know and participate, collectively harnessing the power to safeguard history.
近年大量書籍被公共圖書館下架，部份內容甚至被禁，香港的歷史和公共記憶岌岌可危。有見及此，在 2023 年初開始，一群港人成立 ArchiveHK，整理香港的書籍、檔案和影片等珍貴內容，以審慎原則保存和策展，不收費、不放廣告、不涉商業成份。認同這份理念的港人，無論是報告下架書目、提供瀕危書籍和檔案的電子檔，甚至純粹轉發，都是共同守護歷史的力量。
過去一年多，團隊積極整理被下架的書籍、檔案名單，並組織人手，利用大量時間將之分類、掃描、存檔等。但我們知道，這些工作目前仍只是杯水車薪，需要有更多資源及民間各方協力，才能得到更大成效。
2024 年 7 月，ArchiveHK 進行首次內容策展，主題是「7.21 元朗襲擊事件 5 周年」。有見大量重要歷史記錄先後被下架，例如柳俊江撰寫的《元朗黑夜》已無法在公共圖書館搜索及借閱；香港電台鏗鏘集「7.21 誰主真相」、視點 31 相關報道亦已港台被下架。為記錄歷史，ArchiveHK 已備份這幾筆重要資料，在該次策展讓所有人閱讀、觀看、下載及進一步備份。
此外，已被迫停運的蘋果日報、立場新聞、眾新聞就事件的報道及後續專題，亦已獲整理及保存，並在該次策展中展現。
Media coverage 媒體報道：
【勿忘黑夜】港人成立ArchiveHK存珍貴公共歷史記憶．元朗黑夜5周年審訊仍進行
Never Forget the Dark Night: Hongkongers establish ArchiveHK to preserve valuable public historical memories. The trial for the fifth anniversary of the Yuen Long Dark Night is still ongoing.