Chinese rights lawyer takes legal action after Hong Kong, Taiwan-published books seized
Case comes after controversy caused by the disappearance of five booksellers in Hong Kong in an apparent crackdown on the sale of works critical of China’s government
A prominent civil rights lawyer in China is suing a local government official for confiscating books he bought online that were published in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Yuan Yulai, 61, known for high-profile cases has he brought against government departments and ministries, filed the lawsuit in Zhejiang province on Monday.
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Yuan had bought 14 books from a mainland-based online bookstore, which he found on the country’s biggest e-commerce platform Taobao, he said in an interview.
A government official in charge of publications, radio and culture and four policemen arrived at Yuan’s office in Ningbo in Zhejiang on Friday carrying his parcel of books. They said Yuan was suspected of “purchasing and storing illegal publications” and opened the parcel, despite Yuan’s protests. They then confiscated the volumes, according to Yuan.
The books, whose subjects ranged from North Korean defectors to Nazi Germany, did not include topics that usually result in a ban on the mainland, such as alleged details of government leaders’ person lives.
“My assistant found that six of the books were available at the national library. So there are illegal publications in the library, too?” asked Yuan.
Many similar books are also available at other mainland-based online bookstores.