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Hong Kong bookseller disappearances
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Agnes Chow Ting. Photo: Facebook

Hong Kong student activist ‘surprised’ after her impassioned speech over missing Causeway Bay booksellers goes viral

Scholarism member Agnes Chow Ting’s Facebook plea over the booksellers’ disappearances has been viewed almost one million times in one month

Agnes Chow Ting’s Facebook video, “An urgent cry from Hong Kong,” has been viewed one million times and shared 13,000 times, much to the surprise of the 19-year-old student activist.

Her impassioned speech highlighting the Hong Kong booksellers case has gone viral online since being published January 2.

A Hong Kong Baptist University student and a core member of protest group Scholarism, Chow called for transparency after five members of Causeway Bay Books disappeared one by one in mysterious circumstances.

READ MORE: Hong Kong’s political booksellers face ‘extermination’ threat as China’s Communist Party crackdown and online competition hit sales

Within a month, her speech calling for transparency in the case has been viewed almost one million times and has 13,000 shares, prompting reaction from Facebook users across the world.

身 在 日 本 膽 粗 粗 錄 左 條 英 文 片 , 沒 咩 準 備 、 背 稿 , 抱 歉 。 我 只 係 覺 得 今 次 , 國 際 關 注 係 好 重 要 。"Hong Kong is not Hong Kong anymore, it is NAMED as Hong Kong only."An Urgent Cry from Hong KongI am Agnes Chow, a member of Scholarism, a student activists organization from Hong Kong. I have an important message that I hope to spread to the world which is related to a bookseller who suddenly disappeared and had been abducted to Mainland.A Hong Kong bookseller named Lee Bo who sold books criticizing the Communist Party of China and banned political books suddenly went missing weeks after four of his associates disappeared strangely. The Causeway Bay Bookstore, the bookstore established by Lee in 1994, is popular among mainland tourists as they can buy political books which are banned in their hometown.On 30th December 2015, Lee was supposed to collect books from a warehouse at around 5:30pm. However, he was out of contact and could not be found even his wife arrived the warehouse, looking for him at 8:00pm. About 10:00, his wife received a call from her husband from Shenzhen. Lee used Mandarin unusually rather than Cantonese, and told his wife that he had temporarily gone back to cooperate with the investigation, ‘They want me to assist the investigation, if I cooperate, it may be alright." Lee called his wife again soon to notice her that "you may already know what's going on" and "don't make the news public”.With the protection of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Hongkongers are able to obtain personal safety and basic human rights under rule of law. Even some of the Hongkongers acted as dissidents to voice out their disagreement towards the Communist Party of China, they would not face penalties. Unlike the mainland China, Hong Kong did not adopt authoritarian governance. Citizens who sell politically sensitive books were not supposed to be suppressed by any threats of ‘disappearance’ and imprisonment with the existence of freedom of press and speech. In the past, we were safe because we lived in Hong Kong instead of the mainland China. However, the circumstances have changed with the abduction which was suspected to be done by the police in China towards this bookseller who kept being low profile before. Lee’s wife has reported her husband’s missing to the Hong Kong Police Force but still no one could contact Lee since 4 days before. With no departure record of Lee, and his Home Return Permit Card is left at his home in Hong Kong, it can be speculated that the police from the mainland organized cross-border arrest to threaten people in Hong Kong. If the above speculation is true, it indicates the erosion of "one country, two system" in the Basic Law of Hong Kong.The reason for me to film this video is to raise the global awareness of this serious issue happened in Hong Kong, and I hope that more and more foreign medias can keep their attention and coverage on this white terror incident. We feel that Hong Kong is not Hong Kong anymore, it is NAMED as Hong Kong only. The most worrying thing finally happened. This incident evoke me the famous statement written by Pastor Martin in the 1950s.“First they came for the activists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not an activist. Then they came for the journalists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a journalist. Then they came for the bookseller, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a bookseller. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”I hope everyone in the world who believes in universal values of freedom and human rights could stand up and speak for this incident to stop the political suppression.Even I am also afraid of my personal safety after this incident happened, I still believe we should continuously fight for freedom from fear because it is an important core value that we should uphold . Let us stand up to show our discontent on this abduction and stop the further suppression to political dissidents in Hong Kong.

Posted by 周庭 Agnes Chow Ting on Saturday, January 2, 2016
Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Ms Chow said she created the video to highlight the importance of the missing booksellers case internationally. She said that despite focusing on student issues such as academic freedom, she was keen to promote all cases of political injustice in Hong Kong.
File picture of 65-year-old Lee Bo, a major shareholder in Causeway Bay Books, who went missing in December last year

“I was quite surprised [when the video went viral]. It shows that people all over the world care about what is happening in Hong Kong - they are shocked by it. I hope people will learn about the political situation and keep their eye on Hong Kong. I am really happy that everyone is showing their support,” she said.

“This is the first time that we are aware of Hong Kong people being taken to the mainland because of political feelings about the Chinese president Xi Jinping.”

READ MORE: Hong Kong’s youngest activists draw inspiration from political liberalism

Two of the booksellers, Gui Minhai and Lee Po have made public that they entered mainland China of their freewill, but many Hongkongers believe Chinese authorities breached “one country, two system” agreement to take the booksellers. The whereabouts of three booksellers remain unknown.

Chow told The Post more protests were needed to put pressure on the Chinese government to reveal what has happened to the booksellers.

“I hope people will start to care more about the booksellers. This case shows we do not have the kind of freedoms we should,” she said.

Protesters call for the missing Causeway Bay booksellers to be released at a march in Hong Kong this year. Pboto: AP

In her video, Chow reflected on how Hongkongers are increasingly at risk of abduction from mainland police over their political opinions.

“In the past, we were safe because we lived in Hong Kong instead of the mainland China. However, the circumstances have changed with the abduction which was suspected to be done by the police in China towards this bookseller who kept being low profile before.”

Chow stepped down as leader of Scholarism in October 2014 but remains a core member of the group. Speaking in her video, she explained she also fears being abducted over her political actions, but intends to continue what she describes as the “fight for freedom”.

“I hope everyone in the world who believes in universal values of freedom and human rights could stand up and speak for this incident to stop the political suppression,” she says.

“Even I am afraid of my personal safety after this incident, I still believe we should continuously fight for freedom from fear because it is an important core value that we should uphold.”

The missing Causeway Bay booksellers (clockwise from top left): Gui Minhai, Lui Bo, Cheung Chi-ping, Lee Po and Lam Wing-kei

Causeway Bay Books remained closed today despite suggestions by Lee Po’s wife that it was set to re-open. Lee Po was last seen on December 30 at Mighty Current’s Chai Wan warehouse at about 6pm.

His associates - Gui Minhai, Lui Por, Cheung Ji-ping and Lam Wing-kei - went missing separately in October and November last year.

READ MORE: Scholarism duo among students to secure Jupas-funded university places

Gui, writer and co-owner of Mighty Current, which also runs Causeway Bay Books was last seen in Pattaya, Thailand, in mid-October, while Lui Bo, general manager of Mighty Current, business manager Cheung Ji-ping and bookstore manager Lam Wing-kei, vanished after separately visiting Shenzhen in November.

Mighty Current is a publisher that specialises in books criticising the communist government and banned on mainland China.

In her video, Chow compared the dilemma over whether to protest over the booksellers’ case to the difficulties faced by those who lived through the Nazi regime in Germany.

Referring to political injustice, she cited a quote from German pastor Martin Niemöller, who famously became an outspoken critic of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and voiced his regret over not doing enough for the victims of Nazi rule.

The quote reads: “First they came for the activists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not an activist.

Then they came for the journalists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a journalist.

Then they came for the bookseller, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a bookseller.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”

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