Hong Kong arrests five booksellers over alleged seditious publications

On July 16, Hong Kong’s national security police raided two independent bookshops in the Mong Kok district – Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore. Officers seized a batch of books deemed to have “seditious intention” after a customs referral and arrested five people (two men aged 37 and 57, and three women aged 30‑59). The suspects are accused of displaying and selling publications that incite hatred against the Hong Kong government, judiciary and law‑enforcement agencies, offences punishable by up to seven years in prison under the 2024 national security law.

The crackdown follows earlier raids on independent bookstores in March and June. Have a Nice Stay had announced it would close on 30 August, citing financial losses and an “elusive red line” over permissible titles. Taiwan’s President Lai Ching‑te, Human Rights Watch and other observers condemned the arrests as an attack on freedom of expression. Hong Kong’s security secretary Chris Tang warned booksellers to ensure their stock does not endanger national security.