Several independent bookstores in Hong Kong have been subjected to police searches one after another this year, with some already closed or preparing to shut down. These bookstores have long been selling political and historical books that are unable to be published, sold, or found easily in mainland China. The shrinking space for these bookstores directly affects mainland Chinese readers who specifically travel to Hong Kong to seek out these books.
From March to July this year, Book Punch, Hunter Bookstore, Greenfield Book Store, and Have A Nice Stay were successively targeted by police actions in Hong Kong, with multiple booksellers arrested and subsequently granted bail. Have A Nice Stay officially ended its operation as scheduled on August 30th.
In the past, Hong Kong has been an essential place for mainland Chinese readers to find sensitive political and historical books. Books on the history of the Chinese Communist Party, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, biographies of political figures, criticisms of the Chinese government, and other books that cannot be readily found in mainland China were openly available in Hong Kong.
According to a report by The Associated Press on August 30th, Chinese mainland student Fleming Cheng visited Greenfield Book Store, which has a history of around 50 years when he was in Hong Kong last year. He found books that were difficult for him to access in mainland China, including critical works on the Chinese government, books on the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989, and writings about reform-minded leaders in China. Some of these books he had only been able to see online with the use of a VPN to bypass internet restrictions.
Cheng described these independent bookstores as a “free space.” He believes that if the differences between Hong Kong and mainland China continue to diminish, losing these spaces would be a loss for mainland residents as well.
Iris Wang, a university student from Guangdong, also told AP that stores like Hunter Bookstore not only sell books but also provide readers with exposure to different viewpoints.
For mainland Chinese readers, the uniqueness of Hong Kong’s independent bookstores lies in being able to find books on their shelves that are hard to come by in mainland China. However, many of these bookstores have been targeted by police searches this year.
In March, Pang Yiming, the person in charge of Book Punch, and three others were arrested. On June 24th, Leticia Wong Man-huen, the owner of Hunter Bookstore, and another man were detained. Human Rights Watch reports indicated that both incidents were reportedly related to the biography of Jimmy Lai, the founder of the Apple Daily media group.
Wong is a former journalist and former Democratic Party district councilor in Sha Tin. After resigning in 2021, she opened Hunter Bookstore and served as the editor-in-chief of its publication, “Status Quo” magazine. The police accused the two of engaging in seditious activities, with Wong additionally charged with handling proceeds of crime. They were later released on bail pending further investigation.
On July 15th, police once again searched Have A Nice Stay and Greenfield Book Store, arresting a total of five individuals, including two men and three women, for alleged displays of “incitement” materials and selling publications with “inciting” content. After being detained for nearly two days, they were released on bail.
The police did not publicly disclose which books were deemed to have “inciting” content. Security Bureau chief Chris Tang previously stated that the authorities would not draw up a list of prohibited books.
The Committee to Protect Journalists confirmed that those arrested in the July operation included Sum Wan-wah, a co-founder of Have A Nice Stay and a freelance journalist. The bookstore was founded by five individuals with past media backgrounds in 2022, some of whom had lost their previous jobs due to changes in the Hong Kong news environment.
Have A Nice Stay had announced its closure on July 14th to take place on August 30th. In addition to citing financial difficulties, the store mentioned the challenge of determining which books could be legally sold. They stated that the authorities would not specify which books could or could not be sold, and the store lacked the capacity to individually assess which books might be deemed “problematic.”
The following day, the police conducted a search of the store and arrested related individuals. The store subsequently closed for several weeks, reopened for clearance sales from August 26th to 30th, and officially closed on the 30th, with long queues forming outside the store on the closure day.
Other independent bookstores are also facing pressure. Human Rights Watch reported on July 14th that Elmbook and Luckwin were barred from participating in the Hong Kong Book Fair this year, with no specific reasons given by the authorities.
Elmbook later announced that it would close its physical store in April 2027 upon reaching its 30th anniversary and the expiry of its lease. Greenfield Book Store, after being searched in July, announced its closure following the expiry of its current lease.
Human Rights Watch also noted that since the end of 2023, at least six independent bookstores in Hong Kong have been subjected to tax inspections. Book Punch was fined again this year due to hosting Spanish language courses and comedy performances without proper permits.
However, some bookstores are currently still in operation. Hunter Bookstore reopened about two weeks after Wong’s arrest, with a display of a red heart made of sticky notes on its storefront. Following the announcement of Elmbook’s closure, a large number of readers visited the store to make purchases.
In response to the series of events this year, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements or reports in July.
Amnesty International described the ongoing actions against Hong Kong’s independent bookstores this year as escalating repression. Sarah Brooks, the deputy director of the Asia-Pacific region of the organization, stated that booksellers should not face arrest solely for selling, publishing, or distributing books.
She believed that the Hong Kong authorities were using the charge of “incitement” against bookshops, indicating that the national security system was being utilized as a tool to suppress dissenting voices and stifle freedom of thought and public discourse.
Amnesty International also pointed out that booksellers could not ascertain which books might lead to criminal investigation, arrest, or bookstore closures, which was fostering fear and self-censorship.
Beh Lih Yi, the Asia-Pacific director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, expressed that the authorities using national security laws against bookstores operated by journalists was an assault on press freedom and independent publishing in Hong Kong, calling for an end to actions against independent publishers.
The freedom of the press in Hong Kong has drawn international attention, dating back to the 2015 Causeway Bay Books incident when five Hong Kong booksellers, including Lam Wing-kee, were successively missing and later confirmed to have been detained by Chinese authorities.
Following the 2019 anti-extradition protests, Beijing implemented the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, with the passage of the Maintenance of National Security Bill in 2024. Human Rights Watch noted a noticeable increase in censorship since then, with hundreds of books deemed “sensitive” removed from public and school libraries and more restrictions imposed on independent booksellers.
Simultaneously, some Chinese political publishing activities have begun shifting to Taiwan. According to statistics from Taiwanese sociologist Cheng Tsu-Bang, quoted by The Associated Press, the quantity of books about Hong Kong published in Taiwan from 2020 to 2024 was approximately six times that of the previous five years.
However, these books have also encountered obstacles in entering Hong Kong. A logistics company responsible for transporting books between Taiwan and Hong Kong has requested advance book lists and ceased shipments to Hong Kong bookstores under investigation.