In 2015 five booksellers in Hong Kong were arrested by a Chinese law enforcement group set up to target authors and booksellers (apparently with roots stretching all the way back to the Cultural Revolution.) Over time three were released, with a fourth, Lam Wing Kee released earlier this week. A fifth person remains under arrest.
The five men are (according to BBC News):
Lui Bo, general manager. Went missing: Shenzhen, 15 October 2015 Returned: March 2016
Cheung Jiping, business manager. Went missing: Dongguan, 15 October Returned: March 2016
Gui Minhai, co-owner. Went missing: Thailand, 17 October Still missing
Lam Wing Kee, manager. Went missing: Shenzhen, 23 October Returned: June 2016
Lee Bo, shareholder. Went missing: 30 December – he says from the mainland, Mr Lam says it was from Hong Kong Returned: March 2016
Lam Wing Kee was the owner of the Causeway Bay Bookstore. Of those arrested and released he is the only one who has spoken to the international media. According to The Guardian, Lam said his case had “violated the rights of Hong Kong people.” Lam says he was released on condition that he would return to China with records of all his customers and the books they have purchased. However, the former-bookseller has said he “dare not go back” and he will not, in an act of defiance, provide the names to the government.
Of his time under arrest, he said he was detained in a kept in a 200 square foot room for five months under guard, and subject to repeated questioning. He was also, he says, forced to make a confession on Chinese state television about selling “illegal books.” This is disputed by a report in the South China Morning Post, which claims that Lam stayed in China voluntarily and he was not forced to make his statement on television.
Meanwhile, China has declared a media blackout for all Chinese media companies relating to coverage of the Hong Kong bookseller’s claim he was abducted by Chinese agents. The case highlights the continuing moves to block of freedom of expression in China. This is certainly the overwhelming case on social media.
Right Said Fred pop musician (and gay rights campaigner) Richard Fairbrass (@RFairbrass) tweeted: “Hong Kong bookseller defiant: ‘You can stand up against tyranny.” An Amnesty International’s Nicholas Bequelin 林伟 (@bequelin) exclaimed: “The Hong Kong government’s failure to respond with appropriate concern is staggering.”
Meanwhile the remaining bookseller, Gui Minhai , was last seen in January 2016. At this time he was charged over a 12-year-old drink-driving conviction. although the independent view is that his detention also relates to his book-selling practices.
