The contents of the works contained incitement to hatred against Hong Kong’s government, judiciary and law enforcement authorities, it was said (symbolic image).Image: www.imago-images.de
July 16, 2026, 07:02July 16, 2026, 07:02
Police in Hong Kong have arrested five people for violating the controversial national security law. As the government of the Chinese Special Administrative Region announced, the authorities accuse the two men and three women of having sold publications with “subversive content” in their stores.
The content of the works contained incitement to hatred against Hong Kong’s government, judiciary and law enforcement authorities, it said. Before the searches on Wednesday, according to the government, customs intercepted books with seditious content being imported from abroad, after which the police began to investigate.
Pressure on independent booksellers
Local media reported that the stores were two independent bookstores. Former reporters founded the “Have a Nice Stay” store in 2022, as the Hong Kong “South China Morning Post” reported. Shortly before, the store had announced online that it would be ceasing operations in Hong Kong on August 30 for financial reasons and because of difficult-to-identify “red lines.”
Most recently, the authorities took action against other booksellers. In June, police temporarily arrested the owner of a well-known store for similar reasons. In March, officers raided another store and arrested four people. The arrests of booksellers in Hong Kong reveal that the Chinese government fears free thought, said the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.
After its return to China in 1997, Beijing promised the former British crown colony a high degree of autonomy for 50 years, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Since the introduction of Hong Kong’s own National Security Law 2024, authorities have repeatedly cracked down on activities that Beijing sees as subversive, separatist, terrorist or conspiratorial. (sda/dpa)