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Phila Siu

Ng Kang-chung

Owen Fung

One of the five Causeway Bay booksellers who went missing last year and turned up in mainland custody blew the lid on Thursday on what happened to them, revealing that he had been kidnapped at the border and put through eight months of mental torture.
Full transcript: Lam Wing-kee’s opening statement at his Hong Kong press conference
“It can happen to you too,” Lam Wing-kee warned Hongkongers as he revealed that he had met one of his previously missing associates, Lee Po, on Thursday who told him he had also been ­abducted in Hong Kong.
‘I want to tell the whole world – Hongkongers will not bow down before brute force’

Lam said he was told not to reveal the truth when he returned.
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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Lam described in explosive detail how he was taken away, blindfolded and handcuffed by a special task force 中央專案小組while crossing the border to Shenzhen last ­October.
Eight months on, fourth bookseller finally allowed to return to Hong Kong
Two days after quietly returning home and asking local police to drop their missing person investigation into his case, the 61-year-old Hongkonger was defiant, breaking a silence that had been maintained by three of his colleagues who were earlier allowed to leave by mainland authorities.
The Causeway Bay Books store manager said he had decided to risk his personal safety in speaking out because this was a matter that jeopardised the “one country, two systems” policy under which Hong Kong is ­governed.

On what he wants to say to Hkers Lam said: "I hope Hkers will say no to authoritarian regime"
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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“This is not just about me. This is about the freedom of Hong Kong people. The Chinese government has forced Hong Kong people into a dead end,” Lam said, his fists clenched.
“I am not worried about my personal safety. I have no plan to go to the mainland again. We Hong Kong people are all in the same boat. It can happen to you, too, if I don’t speak up.”
Who are the five Hong Kong booksellers?
Asked if he was scared there could be a repeat, he replied it was up to whether the Hong Kong ­government could take care of its people.

The mysterious disappearances of the five men involved in selling books full of gossip about China’s leaders began in October last year.
Gui Minhai vanished first from Pattaya in Thailand. Lam, Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Por went missing while on the mainland. Lee Po disappeared from Hong Kong in December.
Q&A: Hong Kong bookseller speaks out
All five eventually surfaced on the mainland, appearing on state media to claim they had gone there voluntarily.

Lam: doesn't think Hk gov has helped the booksellers at all.
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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Gui has since been accused of ordering his associates, including Lam, to deliver about 4,000 banned books across the border since October 2014.
On Thursday, Lam said he was crossing the border to visit his girlfriend in Shenzhen on October 24 when he was intercepted by mainland officers.
“The next day ... I was handcuffed and blindfolded. They even put a cap on me. After 13 to 14 hours on a train, I arrived in Ningbo city [Zhejiang province],” he recalled.

Mainland authorities demanded Lam to hand over clients list as a condition for his release.
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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Gui was paraded on state television in January, claiming he had surrendered voluntarily over a 2004 drink-driving incident in Ningbo.
Lam said the people who detained him had forced him to sign a form in which he agreed not to inform his family of his situation, and that he would not hire a lawyer. He signed it as he had no ­option.
His interrogators asked him why he had been smuggling banned books into the mainland and accused him of breaking the law, which he rejected.

Lam: He said he was accused of bringing banned book to the mainland and breaking the law.
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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The interrogators showed him a list of 500 to 600 mainland customers to whom the bookstore had delivered material.
Missing Hong Kong bookseller Lee Po returns home from mainland China after disappearing last December
The list was given to the interrogators by Lee Po, he was told. Lam also revealed that when he appeared on state television, he was made to read from a script he was given.

Lam: The next morning he was blind folded put on a train for 13-14 hours and taken to Ningbo.
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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He said he was released because the interrogators wanted him to bring back a hard disk ­containing more information about the bookstore’s mainland customers.

The Hong Kong government would only say police were seeking more information from Lam, and that it would be unacceptable for any law enforcement work to be carried out in the city without official permission.
Additional reporting by Gary Cheung

Lam said he was held by mainland authorities in Oct 24 when he went to Shenzhen.
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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Lam Wing-kee arrived with Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho. pic.twitter.com/QEb8Y5aCar
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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Venue of bookseller Lam Wing-kee's press conference already filled with reporters 45 mins before start time. pic.twitter.com/BpuniGz56U
— Owen Fung (@owen_fung) June 16, 2016

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To lead, China must learn how to win friends and stop coming across as a bully

National security law: Hong Kong’s librarians must stand firm to protect intellectual freedom

Ex-Swedish China envoy acquitted over talks to free jailed bookseller Gui Minhai

National security law: Hong Kong literary scene fears curbs on what can be written, published and sold in the city after legislation takes effect

Hong Kong bookseller disappearances

Bookseller Lam Wing-kee reveals explosive details of his mainland China detention, claims Lee Po told him he was ‘taken away from Hong Kong’

Lam Wing-kee, at the press conference on Tuesday at Legco, where he detailed his disappearance. Photo: Felix Wong

The missing bookseller Lam Wing-kee talks to the media members at the Legco press room, Central. 16JUN16 SCMP/Felix Wong

Lam pictured at Causeway Bay Books in June last year.

Harry's View

Full transcript of Lam Wing-kee’s opening statement at his Hong Kong press conference

Bookseller Lam Wing-kee talks to the media about his ordeal in mainland China. Photo: Felix Wong

Eight months on, fourth bookseller finally allowed to return to Hong Kong

A source close to the booksellers believes that Lam Wing-kee was the last to be allowed to return because he did not have family members on the mainland. Photo: SCMP Pictures

‘I’ll never publish banned books again’: Hong Kong bookseller Lee Po quits book trade upon return to city

After returning to the city, Lee Po said he did not need help from police or the Hong Kong government. Photo: Edward Wong

(TV CAPTURE)Lee Bo escorted by a man in this morning.

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Causeway Bay Books associate who disappeared in Shenzhen last October also describes ‘surreal’ 24-hour watch and his staged televised confession


Update | Bookseller Lam Wing-kee reveals explosive details of his mainland China detention, claims Lee Po told him he was ‘taken away from Hong Kong’

Causeway Bay Books associate who disappeared in Shenzhen last October also describes ‘surreal’ 24-hour watch and his staged televised confession