Although we have been working with the Hong Kong International Literary Festival to secure a suitable alternative venue for Mr Ma’s talks, it is now clear that no alternative venue is available. At the same time, Mr Ma has made public statements which clarify that his appearances in Hong Kong are as a novelist and that he has no intention to use Tai Kwun as a platform to promote his personalpolitical interests. With this in mind, as Director of Tai Kwun, I have decided to offer our venue for the two talks so that the events may continue to take place as planned. I would like to thank Tai Kwun supporters for their valuable opinions over the past few days and I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

我們與香港國際文學節經過一番努力，嘗試為馬建先生的講座另覓一個合適的場地，可惜這刻很清楚並未有合適的場地。與此同時，我留意到馬先生曾公開表示，他今次是以小說家身分出席在香港的活動，無意借大館作為促進個人政治利益的平台。因此，作為大館的總監，我決定為兩個講座提供場地，令節目可如期舉行。我感謝大館的支持者過去幾日所提出的寶貴意見，並為此事帶來的不便致歉。