Thrifty shoppers flock to charity book sale
Thousands of bargain-hunters put some of their lai see money to good use yesterday at a charity sale of donated books.
The books were on offer in Causeway Bay, Mongkok, Sha Tin and Kwai Chung, with all titles costing just $5 each. Proceeds will go to the Community Chest.
About 11,000 people took part, buying 66,000 of the 140,000 books up for grabs.
Director of Home Affairs Shelley Lee Lai-kuen, officiating at the sale's opening ceremony, bought a copy of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights .
She said she had enjoyed reading all her life.
'Some of my favourites are Agatha Christie's detective novels. I remember when I was a Secondary Two student, I spent the whole summer reading two dozen of her novels,' she said.
Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Paul Leung Sai-wah said he was not worried that the donated books might be later re-sold for profit.
'It is difficult to root out the problem completely but I am not too worried,' he said.
'The public is behaving in an orderly manner during the book sale.'
The sale, also aimed at promoting reading, was jointly organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Home Affairs Department, 18 district councils, the Community Chest and the Agency for Volunteer Service.
