“It Has Become Harder to Publish the Books We Aspire to in Hong Kong”: Step Forward Multimedia Closes
「在港再難出版理想書」 進一步多媒體結業
Step Forward Multimedia, a publishing house established in June 1997, announced that it had closed on the 8th of this month “because it has become harder to publish the books we aspire to in Hong Kong”. Ding Nam-kiu, the publisher’s final president, announced the closure on its social media platform, saying that the publisher had left behind more than 160 books. Its final book was Chan Yau (1956) Chong’s *Love and Peace: An Unfinished Journey of Resistance*, published in 2020 by Benny Tai, a former associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law. In the announcement, Ding said that Step Forward was founded under the management of Kong King-chu and its inaugural president, Chan Yau (1956) Chong, and that Ding took over as president after its reorganisation in 2016. Step Forward’s first book was Kong King-chu’s *From Milan to Diamond Hill*, published in 1997, which told the story of preacher Kam Ho-mong, known as “Kam Jai”, and his assistance to disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong. Ding thanked colleagues for their cooperation and readers for their support, saying that the publisher had left behind more than 160 books in writing: “Even if Step Forward no longer exists, these words will remain in the memory of our city—as long as some among us have not forgotten.” Other books it published included Lui Tai-lok’s *Four Generations of Hong Kong People* and Hui Wai-hang’s *Ten Questions on June Fourth*.
1997年6月成立的出版社「進一步多媒體」宣布，「由於在香港再難出版我們理想中的書」，已於本月8日結業。最後一代社長丁南僑在出版社的社交平台發文宣布結業消息，提到出版社留下了160多本書，最後一本是2020年港大法律學院前副教授戴耀廷的《愛與和平：未完的抗爭之旅》。 丁南僑在公告表示，「進一步」誕生時由江瓊珠和初代社長莊陳有主理，2016年改組後由丁接任社長。「進一步」出版的首本書籍為江瓊珠的《從米蘭到鑽石山》，於1997年出版，講述傳道人「甘仔」甘浩望在港協助弱勢社群的故事。丁感謝工作伙伴協力和讀者支持，留下了160多本書的文字，「這些文字，就算是進一步不復存在，也會留存在我城的記憶之中——只要我們當中有人沒有遺忘」。其他曾出版的書籍包括呂大樂的《四代香港人》、許偉恒的《六四十問》等。 原文網址：https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/article/20240514/s00002/1715623683056