Second bookseller Cheung Chi-ping arrives in city after detention in mainland China
Following Lui Por’s release, his assistant Cheung Chi-ping returns to Hong Kong and asks police to halt investigation
A Hong Kong bookseller detained on the mainland returned to the city on Sunday morning and said he did not require any police or government assistance. He also requested the missing persons file on him be dropped.
The return of Cheung Chi-ping, one of five booksellers who went missing on the mainland last year, came two days after the return of his boss Lui Por, a general manager of Mighty Current, a publishing house which specialises in books critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Cheung worked as Lui’s assistant.
WATCH: A timeline of events in the missing booksellers case
“Hong Kong Police met with [Cheung] who has returned to Hong Kong from the mainland this morning,” an official police statement said. It was nearly identical to the one released on Friday upon Lui’s return, read.
“Police continue to follow through with the other two missing person cases with the Interpol Guangdong Liaison Office of Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department for further details,” the statement added.
It was understood that Cheung was not handed over to Hong Kong police by mainland law enforcement officers, and instead used his Hong Kong ID card to return from Shenzhen at Lo Wu immigration control point shortly after 7am.
“He told officers that he did not need any assistance from police or the Hong Kong government and he also requested police cancel his missing persons report,” a source said.
The source said the other missing booksellers, including Lee Po, were still on the mainland.