Book shops operated by mainland parent companies are either not selling copies of the controversial Tiananmen Papers or are hiding them behind the counter.
The book, translated into English from alleged memos of top Chinese leaders, claims to show how they came to order the violent crackdown on student protesters in June 1989.
The $250 hardback edition went on sale in Hong Kong this month. Beijing has dismissed the book as 'a complete fabrication'.
Joint Publishing (HK) said its stores had no copies and did not intend to order any.
Chung Hwa Book said all its copies had sold out and there was no plan to restock. It refused to give sales figures.
The Commercial Press branch in Causeway Bay has about 20 copies at the counter and customers can only buy them by request. A sales manager said it was not 'convenient' for the book to be placed anywhere else. The store would also sell a Chinese edition coming out in April, he said.