Chinese Authorities Admit They Imprisoned Missing Hong Kong Booksellers

Posted on February 6, 2016

The Hong Kong bookselling world has been rocked by the mysterious disappearance of five booksellers who are all associated with Mighty Current Publishing and its retail division, Causeway Bay Books. Suspicion immediately fell on mainland China because the booksellers refused censorship of the books they sold. The booksellers sell nonfiction works which are quite critical of the Chinese government. Some of the works detail scandals and alleged illegalities of high government officials.

Now three of the booksellers -- Lui Por, Cheung Chi Ping and Lam Wing Kee -- have been located. The Hong Kong police announced that China finally admitted that it has imprisoned the booksellers. After making numerous inquiries of Chinese officials, finally the public security department in Guangdong province admitted that they had imprisoned the booksellers (presumably after kidnapping them).

The Chinese authorities state that the three men "were suspected to be involved in a case relating to a person surnamed Gui, and were involved in illegal activities on the Mainland." Gui Minhai is one of the other missing booksellers, who is assumed to be in jail in China after he disappeared from his home then turned up on Chinese television confessing to an old DUI.

Hong Kong is furious that the Chinese officials are ignoring the autonomous nature of the region and is apparently slipping across the border to kidnap anyone they choose to target. Hong Kong residents are very upset about mainland China's actions. The former British Colony allows the sale of politically controversial books, mainland China does not.