With the scrapping of COVID restrictions this year, some activists have called for the June 4 vigil to resume. In the past three years, however, Hong Kong authorities have barred an annual June 4 candlelight vigil from taking place on COVID social distancing grounds, and public monuments including a 'goddess of democracy' statue have been dismantled from 3 universities. Public memorials and commemorations of China's bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 were once allowed in Hong Kong, unlike mainland China where it is a taboo and censored topic. Hong Kong, which returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging freedoms, has in recent years curbed individual liberties under a sweeping China-imposed national security law.Ĭhinese authorities, however, say the security law has brought stability after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. 'What libraries need to do is to ensure that there's no breach of any laws in Hong Kong, including of course, copyrights etc, and also if they spread any kind of messages that are not in the interests of Hong Kong,' Lee added, without elaborating. If they want to buy, they can buy,' Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee told reporters when asked about the removal of June 4 literature and documentaries from public libraries. 'These books are accessible by people in private book shops. All are enriched by Dalton’s seductive illustrations, with their blend of glamour, intimacy and action.Hong Kong's leader said on Tuesday public libraries needed to ensure books don't violate local laws, amid criticism that many books and videos related to China's Tiananmen Square crackdown have now been removed from library shelves. The minimalist binding design echoes the Folio editions of Casino Royale, From Russia with Love, Dr Noand Goldfinger. The drama in Moonraker is as gripping and visceral as ever, but it’s all the more compelling for the almost eerie stillness of the build-up, in which an increasingly uneasy Bond tries to decipher the ‘nightmare’ signs of impending doom. This begins with the tense game of bridge which sees Bond duping the cheating Drax, a scene described by Susan Hill as ‘the finest thing Fleming ever wrote’. Set solely in London and on the Kentish coast, this unusual Bond novel sets death-defying feats against a backdrop of intense, finely tuned suspense. This leads to a moving closing scene that gives a rare glimpse of the occasionally vulnerable man behind the dauntless secret agent. Gala Brand is a dedicated policewoman, and her relationship with Bond is more nuanced than is often the case in the 007 novels.

Our edition of Fleming’s third 007 novel features stunning artwork by Fay Dalton which depicts the formidable Moonraker, the disfigured face of one of Fleming’s most convincing villains, and a Bond girl whose beauty is matched by her tenacity and wit.

Moonraker book