Hong Kong police have conducted raids on two independent bookstores this week, detaining five individuals on suspicion of seditious intent under the city’s national security law, authorities said. The arrests and closures mark the latest chapter in an ongoing crackdown on dissent in the semiautonomous territory.
The two bookstores targeted were Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore, both known for offering titles critical of Chinese authorities and works related to protest movements in Hong Kong and mainland China. Following the raid, Have a Nice Stay announced it would shut down, citing the lack of clear guidelines about which books may violate the law. The bookstore’s management highlighted the difficulty in policing their own inventory without official clarification on prohibited content. Meanwhile, local media reported that Greenfield Bookstore had closed, with its entrance shuttered.
On Wednesday, police arrested two men and three women, accusing them of engaging in acts of seditious intention—a charge that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. The arrests stemmed from a referral by Hong Kong’s customs department, which found materials deemed suspicious in shipments arriving from overseas.
The crackdown coincided with the opening of Hong Kong’s annual book fair, a major event that has seen increasing restrictions in recent years. Small booksellers known for carrying critical works have been excluded from the fair, reflecting tightening controls over the city’s once vibrant publishing scene.
Hong Kong historically maintained one of Asia’s most dynamic book markets, where publications addressing sensitive topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown or the Great Leap Forward famine were freely available. However, since Beijing increased its oversight of the city, especially after the imposition of the national security law in 2020, the space for publishers and bookstores has significantly diminished.
This shift traces back over a decade, marked by high-profile incidents including the 2015 disappearance of five men connected to a Hong Kong publisher specializing in books about Communist Party leaders. These developments have largely eliminated the open environment that previously allowed critical and dissident voices to be heard through print in the city.
Authorities maintain that the measures are intended to safeguard national security and public order. Critics argue that the broad and vague definitions within the national security law have fostered self-censorship and effectively stifled free expression in Hong Kong’s cultural and publishing sectors.