China seizes toilet paper ridiculing Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG — China has wiped the smile off prodemocracy activists' faces by seizing 7,600 rolls of toilet paper featuring Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Leung Chun-ying pulling a series of ridiculous expressions.

Hong Kong's Democratic Party said the politically charged toilet paper, along with 20,000 packets of tissues, were to be sold at a popular Chinese New Year fair opening next week before the products were seized by mainland authorities.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists frequently ridicule Leung, portraying him as Dracula and a wolf, and repeatedly called for him to step down during more than two months of demonstrations late last year.

The Democratic Party – the largest pro-democracy group in the southern Chinese city – hoped to sell the tissues to raise funds for their activities ahead of a weeklong holiday beginning on February 19.

"I think the Chinese government just wants to suppress all different opinions," the party's chief Lam Cheuk-ting told AFP, adding that Chinese authorities seized the products at a factory at an undisclosed location on the mainland on Friday morning.

"Our products are just some kind of joke, which presents no harm to so-called national security," Lam said.

"It is a violation of freedom of expression," he said, adding that activists were working on a backup plan to ensure the product range would still be available, but refused to give further details.

Lam said the party was expecting to incur HK$100,000 ($12,898) in lost sales on top of a $20,000 non-refundable deposit already paid to the manufacturer. (AFP)