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Joyce Ng

A Hong Kong bookseller has claimed a mainland official told him during his months-long detention to keep working at Causeway Bay Books when he returned to the city, to help snoop on customers buying politically sensitive books.
Lam Wing-kee, sought by mainland authorities for skipping bail but now under local police protection, mentioned the incident in a 14-page account of his detention, released to the media on Saturday.
The account states Lam wrote it from a safe house in Hong Kong on July 29.
The bookseller, who with four business associates disappeared last year and turned up on the mainland, detained for selling banned books there, said he forgot to tell media about the incident previously.
Author demands payment from Lee Po after Causeway Bay Books ‘trashed’ 20,000 works
On his return to Hong Kong in June, Lam made explosive claims that he was nabbed by agents from a “central special investigative unit” when he crossed into Shenzhen last October. He claimed he had endured eight months of “mental torture”.
They wanted to find out more about Hong Kong, especially those who come to buy political books
Lam Wing-kee
In his latest account, Lam elaborated on the role of an officer surnamed Shi, who belonged to the unit and brought him to the city of Shaoguan, Guangdong province. Lam said he had to report to a police station daily after doing volunteer work at a local library.
“In Shaoguan, Shi said to me that, when I come back to Hong Kong one day, I should continue to work in the bookshop,” he wrote.
“He [said he] would contact me and I should report to him about the situation here through texts or photos,” he continued. “They wanted to find out more about Hong Kong, especially those who come to buy political books. I was to be their eyes and ears.”
Mainland authorities accuse Lam of operating a business dealing in illegal publications. That is not a crime in Hong Kong, where freedom of publication is protected.

The authorities have yet to respond to Lam’s latest claims. In July, they showed Hong Kong officials a video detailing Lam’s crimes and life in detention, asserting the bookseller’s rights had been “fully protected”. But they have kept silent as to why they did not tell Hong Kong police they were detaining him.
Pro-establishment newspapers such as Sing Tao Daily ran stories refuting Lam, including an interview with a librarian in Shaoguan who alleged Lam’s remark that he had no freedom was “a blatant lie”.
Watch: Lam Wing-kee claims ‘forced confessions’


Earlier this year, an unknown investor bought shares in the publishing house that owned Causeway Bay Books, but the shop remains closed. “Why do those people want to buy the bookshop and let it be vacant?” Lam wrote in his latest statement. “It’s clear those people have the aim of using the bookshop as their watch post to keep Hongkongers under surveillance.”
The store was not cheap, Lam added in the statement, noting its rent of HK$40,000 per month.


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Hong Kong bookseller disappearances

‘I was to be their eyes and ears’: Hong Kong bookseller claims mainland agent told him to report on customers

Mainland authorities accuse Lam of selling illegal books there. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Causeway Bay Books, a bookstore located on Lockhart Road in Causeway Bay, which the bookseller has been missing. 14JUN16 SCMP/Sam Tsang

Author demands payment from Lee Po after Causeway Bay Books ‘trashed’ 20,000 works

Woo Chih-wai shows receipts of book royalties issued by Causeway Bay Books owner Lee Po and his wife Sophie Choi. Photo: Bruce Yan

Jailed editors and kidnapped booksellers: A cautionary tale for all critics of Beijing

A member of Hong Kong’s Labour Party protests near Causeway Bay Books to support Lam Wing-kee, one of the five booksellers detained on the mainland. The sign he wears says “We’re all Lam Wing-kee”. Photo: Edward Wong

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** Guo Zhongxiao

Books on China politics for sale on a newsstand in Causeway Bay. 25JAN16 SCMP/ Nora TamTam

Book store owner Lee Bo meets press at City Garden. 18JUN16

epa05144039 A flyer that reads 'Missing: Impossible' with the photos of 5 missing booksellers hangs on the entrance to Causeway Bay Books store in Hong Kong, China, 05 February 2016. Guangdong police have finally confirmed that booksellers Lam Wing-kee, Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Por, are being investigated in mainland China. The three plus Gui Minhai and Lee Po, also held by Chinese police, are associated with the publishing house 'Mighty Current' and Causeway Bay Books that publish and sell books critical of mainland China leaders and the Chinese Communist Party. EPA/JEROME FAVRE

Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee agrees to police protection

After dropping out of school, Lam Wing-kee took up jobs catering, delivering soft drinks, and making plastic moulds and wooden kitchenware. He was earning a living, but his heart was still in books. Photo: Robert Ng

Interview with Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee. 07JUL16 SCMP/Robert Ng

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Lam Wing-kee’s latest account written from a safe house under police protection


‘I was to be their eyes and ears’: Hong Kong bookseller claims mainland agent told him to report on customers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lam Wing-kee’s latest account written from a safe house under police protection

Lam Wing-kee’s latest account written from a safe house under police protection