The Office of the Ombudsman in Hong Kong has ruled that a complaint against the government's refusal to disclose information about books purged from public libraries was unsubstantiated. However, the Ombudsman did identify 'inadequacies' in the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's handling of the issue. The complaint was made after local media reported that political titles had been stealthily removed from library shelves since 2020. The Ombudsman did not elaborate on the nature of the inadequacies or make any recommendations. Another complaint against the department's refusal to disclose a list of Chinese books bought by the libraries was also ruled unsubstantiated. The Ombudsman received a total of 4,351 complaints between April 2023 and March 2024, with only 4.6% warranting a full investigation.
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