Hong Kong’s security chief has said booksellers have a responsibility to ensure the titles they sell do not threaten national security, following this week’s raids on two stores and the arrest of five people.
Security Secretary Chris Tang said on Thursday that authorities would not release a list of books deemed problematic and that booksellers must take responsibility for ensuring that the titles on their shelves are legal.
“Just like merchants who sell food must make sure that their food does not make people sick. That they do not sell poison and break the law,” Tang told reporters in Cantonese.
“I believe booksellers have the same responsibility,” he said.
Tang’s remarks came a day after national security police raided independent stores Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore, arresting five suspected rioters.
The government said in a statement on Wednesday that the five had displayed and sold items with “seditious aims”, inciting hatred against the authorities.
Veteran journalist Sum Wan-wah, who co-founded Have a Nice Stay in 2022, was seen leaving the North Point police station at around 10am on Friday. according to for local media. A Have a Nice Stay vendor was also photographing leaving Cheung Sha Wan Police Station.
Wednesday’s arrests marked the third time this year that authorities have targeted independent bookstores and their operators for allegedly selling rebellious titles.
The arrests raised concerns about which books would be considered seditious by the authorities and where the red lines lie. In 2022, the Hong Kong government cited security reasons for refusing to tell a lawmaker which books had been removed from public libraries because of a national security law imposed by Beijing.
Tang said Thursday that the government will not make a list of banned books, as offenders can avoid detection by changing the wording of the titles.
He said “the law was clear” and that authorities were not targeting specific sectors, despite the string of booksellers’ arrests.
“If any store or individual engages in any activity that endangers national security … we will take enforcement action,” he said.
In March, independent bookseller Pong Yat-ming and three staff members of his Book Punch store were arrested suspicion of selling rebel titlesincluding a biography of jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai.
In June, Hunter Bookstore owner Letitia Wong was arrested for the suspected appearance and selling “rebellious” titles and “receiving multiple remittances from foreign political organizations”. Her husband was caught on suspicion of having committed the same crime.
Have a Nice Stay announced on Tuesday, a day before the police raids, that it would close at the end of August, citing “unclear red lines”.
