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Hong Kong crackdown on independent booksellers

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-03 02:25 UTC → 2026-08-17 05:20 UTC · added removed

The crackdown persisted into on independent booksellers intensified throughout July 2026. On 24 June 2026 police detained the owners of Hunter Bookstore in Sham Shui Po – former district councillor Leticia Wong (33) and a 32‑year‑old man – accusing them of displaying and selling seditious titles, including a biography of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, and alleging foreign funding. They face up to seven years for seditious conduct and up to 14 years for money‑laundering. A week later, on 15 July 2026, the national‑security unit July, national security police raided the independent Mong Kok shops “留下书舍” Have a Nice Stay and “田园书屋”, Greenfield Bookstore, seizing materials deemed to have ‘seditious intention’ and detaining arresting five staff, adding to earlier searches of Hunter Bookstore staff members. This followed raids on ‘留下书舍’ and bringing ‘田园书屋’, which brought the month’s total arrests to seven. Have a Nice Stay subsequently announced its closure, citing financial losses and an ‘elusive red line’ regarding permissible titles. Pressure extended to the annual Hong Kong Book Fair, where long-running booksellers Elmbook and Luck Win were excluded from participating, and certain titles were barred from sale. Security Secretary Deng Bingqiang reiterated Chris Tang warned publishers that non-compliance with the national‑security law applies to any illegal activity 2020 National Security Law and refused to publish the list 2024 Article 23 ordinance could lead to legal consequences. Further enforcement includes intensified scrutiny of prohibited books, a stance criticised by rights groups as chilling free expression. The pattern follows earlier raids book shipments from Taiwan. Under rules introduced in March, June and July 2024 and the July 2026 raids on Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore, which led March 2026, Hong Kong Customs has increased seizures of materials suspected of sedition, with retailers reporting that up to closures and international two-thirds of shipments face inspection. These actions have drawn condemnation from Taiwan’s president, Human Rights Watch President Lai Ching-te and Amnesty International. The sustained pressure on Hong Kong’s independent publishing venues underscores an expanding enforcement of international human rights groups, who describe the 2024 national‑security law measures as a suppression of civil society and the Article 23 ordinance. a shrinking space for free expression.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-17 05:20 UTC Hong Kong crackdown on independent booksellers
  2. 2026-08-03 02:25 UTC Hong Kong crackdown on independent booksellers

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