Thousands protest missing booksellers in Hong Kong

Chinese law enforcement officers have no official right to operate in Hong Kong, but supporters of the disappeared individuals fear they have been kidnapped and taken to the mainland.

At the liaison office, the destination point for the march, protesters were tying yellow ribbons – a symbol of the city’s 2014 Occupy movement – around railings in front of the administrative building.

Some of the books taken off shelves include those purportedly detailing the inner workings of the Communist party in texts like like The Secret Deals Between Xi Jinping and Bo Xilai, and others critical of the government or depicting salacious stories about party leaders.

Disappeared… placards showing some of the missing booksellers from the Mighty Current publishing house, known for books critical of Beijing.

“This is a milestone for suppression”, said rally co-organizer Lee Cheuk-Yan. The books have generated top sales for Page One and Causeway Bay Books, which is run by Mighty Current.

A man walks down the stairs after finding that Causeway Bay Books, with five of its booksellers missing, was closed in Hong Kong.

The case has raised fears that China is undermining Hong Kong’s press freedom. A local artist ties himself with a rope during a protest against the disappearances of booksellers in Hong Kong.

Lee’s wife reported him missing to police but soon withdrew her complaint after receiving a letter reportedly handwritten by her husband telling her he had gone to the Chinese mainland to work with “concerned parties”, according to the BBC.

Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony in 1997, when it was formally handed back to China. “We share the concern of the people of Hong Kong regarding these disappearances”.

Although Mr. Hammond said Mr. Lee is a British citizen, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared the publisher was “first and foremost” a Chinese citizen and that “it was not necessary for anyone to make groundless speculations”.

“It was raining toward the end of the demonstration but many people still stayed and insisted to finish the march”, Tsoi said. Hong Kong police are investigating and have not disclosed if mainland authorities have told them about the case.

At the People’s Book Cafe, posters of Mao Zedong – the late founder of modern China – were hanging above mainland Chinese tourists scouring the aisles to buy banned books on China’s leaders, including Mao himself.

The bureau did not say whether any specific immigration law would be violated if the procedures were not followed, nor did it state whether it was possible that a person compelled by an accident or other reasonable causes could leave Hong Kong at an unauthorised place of embarkation.