Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers yesterday said they would press the government for answers after a fifth employee of a publisher specializing in books critical of China’s leadership went missing.
Democratic Party Legislator Albert Ho (何俊仁) said the territory was “shocked and appalled” by the disappearance of Lee Bo (李波).
Like the four others who have disappeared in recent months, Lee is associated with publisher Mighty Current (巨流).
While there has been no official word on what happened to the five missing people, Ho told reporters that it appears their disappearances are linked to the publisher’s books.
“From the available information surrounding the disappearance of Mr Lee Bo and his partners earlier, we have strong reason to believe that Mr Lee Bo was probably kidnapped and then smuggled back to the mainland for political investigation,” Ho said.
Ho, a customer at the firm’s bookshop in Causeway Bay, said he had heard from other store regulars that the company was about to launch a book about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) former girlfriend.
“To my knowledge ... the book concerns the story about the girlfriend ... [from] some years ago,” he said. “There were warnings given to the owners not to publish this book. This book has not yet gone to print, but probably it has something to do with this book.”
Pro-Beijing lawmaker and former Hong Kong secretary for security Regina Ip (葉劉淑儀) urged the territory’s government to “seriously handle the matter.”
Lawmakers have called on the Hong Kong government to say whether there was an official immigration departure record for Lee.
It is not uncommon in China for executives and dissidents to be detained for lengthy periods by authorities or vanish without anyone claiming responsibility, but the disappearances are unprecedented in Hong Kong and have shocked the territory’s publishing industry.
Lee went missing on Wednesday evening and was last seen leaving his company’s warehouse, according to local media reports.
Three coworkers earlier disappeared in Shenzhen, China, while the fifth — the company’s co-owner, Gui Minhai (桂民海), who is a Swedish national — was reported to have disappeared in Thailand.
A few dozen protesters yesterday marched to Beijing’s Liaison Office to demand information about Lee, Mighty Current’s chief editor and, according to the South China Morning Post, one of the company’s major shareholders.
Mighty Current and its Causeway Bay bookstore are known for gossipy titles about Chinese political scandals and other sensitive issues popular with visiting Chinese tourists. Its books are banned in China, but are available in Hong Kong.
The disappearances highlight growing concern that Beijing is moving to tighten its grip on the former British colony as Xi moves to clamp down on dissent.
Hong Kong Acting Secretary for Security John Lee (李家超) told reporters that police were “actively” investigating the case and would widen the scope of their probe.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which is under the Chinese State Council, could not be reached yesterday for comment.
Hong Kong’s second-highest-ranking official, Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥), expressed concern about the case yesterday.
“The Hong Kong government is highly concerned about the wellbeing of Hong Kong people in the city and abroad. I know the police are already working on the case,” Lam said.
Lee Bo’s wife told Cable TV Hong Kong in a report broadcast on Saturday that she received a telephone call from him the night he disappeared.
She said he told her then that he was “assisting an investigation” and alluded to the earlier disappearances, but was not more specific.
She said Lee Bo spoke to her in Mandarin, even though they usually communicate in Cantonese.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
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