The Taiwanese subsidiary of a logistics firm in Hong Kong has reportedly told customers it will not ship “banned books” to the city to comply with a national security law imposed by Beijing.
Taiwanese media Formosa Television (FTVN) first reported On Tuesday, Hong Kong firm Jaguar Logistics’ Taiwan branch issued a notice to customers about its new policies.
The firm said it would not ship “banned publications” to the city and that customers must provide a list of book titles in shipments, according to a copy of the notice obtained by FTVN.
It will also not be shipped to bookstores under government investigation, Jaguar Logistics said.
The firm named Greenfield Bookstore, Have a Nice Stay, Book Punch and Hunter Bookstore – the four independent bookstores that have seen staff arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition this year.
The headquarters of Jaguar Logistics, which is in Hong Kong, did not immediately respond to HKFP’s inquiries on Wednesday. A staff member said he needed to get more information from the Taiwan branch.
Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department told HKFP it would not comment on remarks made by individual organisations.
In an emailed response on Friday, the department said it would strongly safeguard national security, adding that it would stop shipments suspected of containing rebel objects and refer them to police for investigation.
Jaguar Logistics’ branch in Taiwan told FTVN that its containers bound for Hong Kong were detained by the city’s customs department earlier, resulting in losses for the company.
The strike continues
Last week, Hong Kong authorities raided Greenfield bookstore and Have a nice stay, the arrest of five people suspected of selling rebellious publications.
It was the third round of national security police operations targeting independent booksellers this year, with staff from Punch book AND Hunter Bookstore being arrested for alleged sedition in March and June, respectively.
In total, 11 people were arrested. All of them have been released on bail and have not been charged.
Following the arrests last week, Security Secretary Chris Tang said that the authorities would not provide a list of banned publicationsand that booksellers must take responsibility for ensuring that the titles on their shelves are legitimate.
Tang said a list of banned books could give infringers the ability to avoid detection by changing the titles.
Jaguar Logistics branch in Taiwan said a Ming Pao reporter posing as a client that Hong Kong authorities did not order him to release the notice. According to a report on Wednesday, the branch said it was simply acting “carelessly”.
The firm did not have a list of banned books and the Hong Kong government did not provide one, the reporter was told.
The notice served as a reminder to customers not to send publications “critical of the Chinese government,” “sensitive to the Hong Kong government” or carrying “provocative headlines,” the staff member said.
Jaguar Logistics was established in 1997. It operates in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. according to on the company’s website.
