Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee who fled to Taiwan says he’s ready to reopen in Taipei

Former manager of Causeway Bay Books says new store will cater to ‘free souls’ and provide a ‘space for everyone’

Reopening possible after crowdfunding campaign raised US$196,000, he says

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Bookseller Lam Wing-kee says he wants his new store to be a “space for everyone”. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:00pm, 7 Nov 2019Updated: 11:15pm, 7 Nov 2019

Lam Wing-kee, the Hong Kong bookseller who moved to Taiwan in April – three years after claiming he had been kidnapped by Chinese agents for selling books banned across the border – says he plans to reopen his store, Causeway Bay Books, in Taipei early next year.

The shop would sell books about Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China, and cater to “free souls” so they could understand the increasingly complex situation facing the three territories, he said.

“I’m looking for premises in downtown Ximending where many locals and tourists visit,” he said on Thursday.

“And I am planning to make it a space for everyone, because the bookstore is only able to open because of help from the public.”

Lam was referring to a crowdfunding campaign he launched on the FlyingV platform between September and November, which raised NT$5.97 million (US$196,000) from about 2,900 people.

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