The exteriors of the Greenfield E book Retailer is seen in Mong Kok district, Hong Kong, on Wednesday, July 15 2026.
Kanis Leung/AP
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Kanis Leung/AP
HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested 5 folks on suspicion of promoting allegedly seditious publications, native media reported Wednesday, within the newest step concentrating on unbiased booksellers.
Movies and images from a number of media retailers confirmed officers carrying vests marked with “Police” seizing bins from the constructing housing Have A Good Keep, a bookshop based by former journalists. A bookseller was seen being taken away.
A couple of streets away the same scene performed out, with bins taken from the constructing housing Greenfield E book Retailer, in accordance with a video by on-line information outlet The Collective.
Police later mentioned they raided two shops in Mong Kok district, with out figuring out them. They arrested two males and three girls on suspicion of breaching the 2024 nationwide safety legislation, in accordance with their assertion.
That is the third spherical of arrests linked to unbiased bookstores after comparable operations in March and June that have been broadly seen as stifling dissent within the Asian monetary hub.
The brand new police assertion mentioned an investigation confirmed the 5 folks have been suspected of displaying seditious supplies and promoting seditious publications on the premises. The publications’ content material consists of stirring up hatred in opposition to the town’s authorities, judiciary and legislation enforcement companies, it mentioned.
Customs officers referred the case after the invention of allegedly seditious books in a batch of products shipped to Hong Kong from abroad, police mentioned, with out specifying titles.
The bookstores have been closed throughout standard opening hours on Wednesday. Calls to Greenfield and a founding father of Have A Good Keep have been unanswered.
The exteriors of the bookstore ‘Have A Good Keep’ is seen in Prince Edward district, Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
Kanis Leung/AP
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Kanis Leung/AP
Have A Good Keep had already introduced it might shut down on Aug. 30. In a social media put up, it mentioned monetary difficulties and an elusive crimson line have been among the many elements.
Hong Kong was as soon as identified for its freedom of publication and freedom of expression. Some Chinese language residents crossed the border to purchase books deemed to be too politically delicate on the mainland.
Lam Wing-kee, the proprietor of Causeway Bay Books till his loss of life earlier this month, made worldwide headlines in 2016 when he revealed that he was held by Chinese language authorities after crossing from Hong Kong to the town of Shenzhen. 4 others affiliated with the bookstore in Hong Kong disappeared in late 2015.
Lam’s account shocked many individuals within the former British colony, which Beijing promised would keep its Western-style civil liberties for 50 years after its return to China in 1997.
Following political adjustments after anti-government protests in 2019, unbiased bookstores have been working in an much more difficult setting.
Authorities say the nationwide safety legal guidelines are essential for the town’s stability. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Safety Chris Tang has mentioned the federal government wouldn’t arrange a listing of banned books, saying it might be pointless to implement in actuality.
In March, police arrested the proprietor and workers of the unbiased E book Punch retailer, reportedly on suspicion of promoting seditious publications. They included the biography of former pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to twenty years in jail in his nationwide safety case.
In June, Hong Kong police arrested two booksellers on suspicion of promoting seditious publications and receiving funds from international political organizations.
All have been later launched on bail.
