Update | Hong Kong leader murky on today’s deadline for mainland to respond on fate of missing bookseller Lee Bo
Meanwhile, more than 10 days after latest disappearance, police set up 24-hour hotline asking public for information
More than 10 days after bookseller Lee Bo went missing, the Hong Kong police have set up a 24-hour hotline for the investigation. Members of the public who have information on the disappearances are urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit at 6764 4385.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the Hong Kong government to demand answers from mainland authorities on the whereabouts of missing bookseller Lee Bo, with today being the deadline for them to respond under a reciprocal mechanism.
But Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying suggested that today was not a definite deadline.
“Sometimes it takes longer, and sometimes the otherwise, for mainland authorities to respond on cases like these … this case was reported to the Hong Kong police on January 1, and it has been 11 days since then, but there were cases in the past which took longer for mainland authorities to respond to,” Leung said this morning.
READ MORE: Hong Kong justice minister pledges ‘full and thorough’ probe into missing bookseller mystery
Lee, who holds a British passport, was the fifth Hong Kong bookseller involved with publications banned in mainland China to go missing in the past two months. The disappearances prompted thousands to take to the streets on Sunday in protest.