Bookseller Lam Wing Kee (林榮基), who returned to Hong Kong this week after months being held in China, yesterday told media he was detained at the border at Shenzhen in October, travelled through southern China blindfolded, and later held under close watch for months.
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Lam Wing-Kee’s comments at a packed news conference were the first detailed account of what happened to the men, who were associated with a publisher of gossipy books on China’s Communist leadership that are banned on the mainland.
Even conservative Hong Kong politicians are surprised and concerned about Lam’s revelation. Besides him, co-owners Lee Po and Lui Por and another employee, Cheung Chi Ping, have also been released on bail.
The five booksellers began disappearing past year, from Thailand, southern China and Hong Kong.
At a Thursday press conference, Lam revealed he had a girlfriend on the mainland and suggested he had no choice but to sacrifice the couple’s relationship to tell Hong Kong of his terrifying ordeal. Lam said that he was willing to speak out because he was the only one of the five that doesn’t have family on the mainland, and therefore has less at risk.
“The public can not put the case behind it unless there are more clarifications and assurances from Beijing and the Hong Kong government”, it said. Later, Lam said he was told that his acts of buying and selling books banned in mainland China were illegal and that he faced prosecution. Mr. Gui, who holds a Swedish passport, is the only one still in custody.
China’s resource shares rose for the second day after the government said it would strictly control new production capacity in the non-ferrous metals sector and boost the stockpiling of state reserves. But he could not explain how he had left Hong Kong without clearing immigration checks – leading to continuing suspicions that he had been abducted by Chinese agents, and pressurized to keep quiet about it. This is about the freedom of Hong Kong people.
Mr. Lam’s story indicates that the worst fears of Hong Kong’s population have come true: China, intolerant of dissent and free speech, is exporting its police state tactics to their streets and beyond, despite the pledge of “one country, two systems”.
The kidnapping of the five booksellers is widely regarded as the biggest breach of Hong Kong’s independence since it was handed back to China in 1997.
China’s foreign ministry would not be drawn on the criticisms of its treatment of Lam, saying only that he had violated Chinese law.
Five other booksellers linked to Causeway Bay Books went missing late past year before surfacing in Chinese police custody.
A small number of protesters congregated at Hong Kong’s liaison office, which is responsible for communications with PRC, led by pro-democracy party Demosisto’s secretary-general Joshua Wong. He said he was anxious about his girlfriend’s fate after he chose to speak out, but felt he had no choice.
Pro-democracy legislators have accused the Hong Kong government of being Beijing’s puppet and have urged authorities to address residents’ concerns.
On her Facebook page Ho emphasized that the music gig would be “very safe” – a dig at Lancome, which had said it was canceling her concert for “security” reasons.
However, Lam said the entire broadcast in February had been scripted, adding that he recited it for fear of the consequences. “I thought about it for two nights before I decided tell you all what happened, as originally and completely as I could”, he said, according to a transcript translated by the South China Morning Post.
Two of the men who went missing are European Union citizens: Lee Bo is British, Gui Minhai is a Swedish national who disappeared while in Thailand.
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As of Thursday, Gui Minhai is the last bookseller that’s still being detained.
