Thousands of people yesterday took to the streets of Hong Kong in a reprise of anti-China protests of more than a year ago, demanding to know the whereabouts of five men connected with Hong Kong publisher Mighty Current (巨流) and its bookstore, Causeway Bay Books (銅鑼灣圖書), who are critical of Beijing’s leadership.
Other publishers and book vendors are unnerved by the mysterious disappearances and in some cases, they have pulled books critical of Beijing’s leaders from their shelves.
In three bookstores that sell political books, owners declined to be interviewed, citing fear of retaliation from Beijing.
Photo: AFP
Hong Kong is constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and autonomy from Beijing for 50 years, but the series of disappearances has led to suspicions that Chinese law enforcement officers were ignoring the regulations.
Lee Bo (李波), 65, a shareholder of Causeway Bay Books and a British passport holder, went missing from Hong Kong late last month, although his wife has withdrawn a missing persons report, saying he traveled to China voluntarily to assist in an unspecified investigation.
Four other associates of the publisher have previously been unaccounted for since late last year.
Dressed in yellow and holding yellow umbrellas, the hallmark of anti-China protests that crippled parts of the territory in late 2014, the protesters demanded to know the whereabouts of the missing men.
“Today’s Lee Bo is you and me tomorrow,” the protesters shouted.
The demonstrators gathered outside Hong Kong government headquarters — the scene of pro-democracy protests in late 2014 — carrying banners that read: “Release Hong Kong booksellers now.”
The government said in a statement it was “firmly committed to protecting the freedom of expression and freedom of publication.”
“The rule of law is the cornerstone of our society,” it said, adding that police are investigating the cases and have sought assistance from Chinese authorities.
Protest organizers said about 6,000 people took part.
“Nobody is safe in Hong Kong now,” said Bao Pu (鮑樸), who published the secret memoirs of former Chinese Communist Party general secretary Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽), who was purged after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
His father, Bao Tong (鮑彤), was the most senior Chinese official jailed over the protests in Beijing.
As of Thursday, more than 500 publishers, writers, booksellers and members of the public had signed an online petition pledging to: “Not fear the white terror and uphold the principle of publication freedom.”
White terror is a term used to describe periods of political persecution by authoritarian regimes.
Britain and the US have expressed concern over the disappearances.
At a recent news conference, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) skirted a direct question on whether the men were under Chinese detention.
The Guangdong and Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, have not responded to repeated requests for comment.
However, China’s state-run Global Times wrote in an editorial that the missing men were exercising an “evil influence” in China through their political books.
It went on to say that it was “reasonable” for law enforcement agencies to “circumvent the law when they seek cooperation from an individual for investigation.”
Political gossip books and exposes on Chinese leaders have been a lucrative niche market for Hong Kong booksellers catering to Chinese visitors accustomed to pervasive censorship of sensitive literature at home.
However, now, some stores have distanced themselves from such books.
At the PageOne bookshop chain, a young sales assistant said that some of these books had been pulled recently.
“This is the company’s decision,” he said. “I am not very clear about it. We only have history books now.”
A PageOne spokesperson said the firm would not comment.
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