Hong Kong’s National Security Police have arrested a former pro-democracy district councilor and raided her Sham Shui Po Bookstore for alleged rebellion, according to local media reports.
The police said in a statement shortly after midnight Thursday that a woman, 33, and a man, 32, were arrested Wednesday. The pair allegedly displayed and sold “seditious” titles and “received numerous consignments from foreign political organisations”, they said.
Local media reports identified the woman as former Civic Party district councilor Leticia Wong, who heads Hunter Bookstore in Sham Shui Po. HKFP tried to contact Wong on Wednesday night, but multiple phone calls and text messages did not go through.
In the statement, police said the two allegedly sold seditious titles inciting hatred against Hong Kong authorities, the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. They were suspected of violating the city’s domestic national security law, the National Security Protection Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23.
The Sham Shui Po store was raided and officers seized suspected rebel items and books, police said. The pair have been detained for investigation.
Last year, HKFP reported that Hunter Bookstore had faced dozens of inspections and audits from various government departments.
Sedition carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, but that can be increased to 10 years if the offender is found to have collaborated with a foreign power.
In March, independent bookseller Pong Yat-ming and three of the staff at his Book Punch store were it is reported that he was arrested on suspicion of selling sedition titlesincluding a biography of jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai.
