Cultural revolution, Zhao Ziyang and Mao Zedong: Hongkongers and mainlanders buying politically sensitive books at Hong Kong Book Fair
Booth operators note greater interest in volumes on Hong Kong and mainland China, with many buyers from across the border although some browse rather than buy
More politically sensitive books about Hong Kong and mainland Chinese politics are being sold at the Hong Kong Book Fair, publishers say, with some noting many of the customers are from across the border.
This comes after the high-profile disappearance of five staff members of Causeway Bay Books, a store specialising in the sale of such books which are banned on the mainland. One of the sellers, Lam Wing-kee, has since said he was detained in mainland China for eight months.
Carmen Kwong Wing-suen, editor-in-chief of Up Publications, a small independent publishing firm with a pro-democracy background, estimated that sales had increased by about 30 per cent from last year.
While the booth carries publications ranging from history to children’s fiction, Kwong noted that books on politics were the most popular this year.
“Books on the Hong Kong government always sell well, but this year even those on the mainland government are doing well,” she said.