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Hong Kong (AFP) - A Hong Kong employee of a publishing firm known for producing books critical of the Chinese government has gone missing, his wife said Friday, following the earlier apparent disappearance of four colleagues.
It is the latest incident to fuel growing unease in Hong Kong at the erosion of freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, with fears that the five men may have been detained by Chinese authorities.
Lee Bo, the chief editor of a publisher which produces books on Chinese politics, was a colleague of the four others.
A source said Lee, 65, was last seen in Hong Kong on Wednesday at the publisher's warehouse, which he is in charge of.
Lee's wife Sophie Choi also said he was in Hong Kong Wednesday but went missing that night.
"I started looking for him when he didn't come home for dinner that night at around 7 pm," Choi told AFP.
"He called me that night at around 10 pm to tell me that everything was all right," Choi said.
But she said the number from which Li was calling her did not belong to him and originated from the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Choi said she reported the case to Hong Kong police on Friday. Police said the incident had been listed as a "missing persons" case.
"It is a very difficult time for me... I'm not sure what has happened, these are not things that normal people know about," Choi said.
The source told AFP that Lee was last seen in the publisher's warehouse in Hong Kong at 5pm on December 30th.
"Apparently he met somebody and subsequently disappeared. This is very shocking if it is true."
Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement. It enjoys liberties not seen on the mainland, including freedom of the press and publication, but there are fears these are under threat.
When the four other publishers disappeared last autumn Lee had said he was a shareholder in the Mighty Current publishing company.
"I think (it has happened) probably because of publishing matters... political books banned on the mainland," he told AFP at the time.
The other men who went missing are Gui Minhai, a Swedish national and co-owner of the Mighty Current publishing company. Local media said he failed to return from a holiday in Thailand in October.
The publishing company's general manager Lui Bo, an employee Cheung Jiping and bookstore manager Lam Wing-kei are also reportedly missing after disappearing in southern China in October.
Rights groups had expressed concern at the previous disappearances, with Human Rights Watch saying there was a "concerted effort" by the mainland to prevent Chinese political books travelling from Hong Kong to China.
Hong Kong publisher Yao Wentian, who was due to release a dissident's book about Chinese President Xi Jinping, was reported to have been detained for almost three months in January 2014.
In May 2014 Yao, then 73, was sentenced by a Chinese court to 10 years in jail for smuggling.
Missing Hong Kong bookseller 'assisting in investigation': wife
AFP
January 3, 2016, 2:08 am
Hong Kong (AFP) - A missing Hong Kong employee from a publisher of books critical of China was "assisting in an investigation", his wife said Saturday, as police also probe the disappearance of his colleagues.
Lee Bo went missing Wednesday night and is the fifth employee of Hong Kong-based publisher Mighty Current to disappear.
The incident adds to growing unease that freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese city are being eroded, with fears the five men may have been detained by Chinese authorities.
"He said he wouldn't be back so soon and he was assisting in an investigation," Lee's wife Sophie Choi told Hong Kong's Cable Television, describing a call she had with Lee the night he failed to return home.
It was not clear what investigation Lee was referring to.
"I asked him if it was related to the case before. He said 'yes', regarding that case where a few others had gone missing," Choi said.
Police said in a statement they were investigating the disappearance of Lee and three of the other missing men.
It made no comment on the fifth man.
Deputy leader Carrie Lam tried to reassure the public.
"The Hong Kong government cares about its people's wellbeing... police are working on this case," she told reporters.
Choi previously told AFP she started looking for Lee on Wednesday night after he failed to return home for dinner and she reported him missing to police on Friday.
He later called to say "everything was alright" from a number that did not belong to him and originated from the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, Choi had said.
Another source told AFP that Lee, 65, was last seen in Hong Kong on Wednesday at the publisher's warehouse, which he is in charge of.
- 'Concern and anxiety' -
Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and enjoys liberties not seen on the mainland, but there are fears these are under threat.
The publishing company's general manager Lui Bo, an employee Cheung Jiping and bookstore manager Lam Wing-kei are also apparently missing after disappearing in southern China in October.
Local media said Gui Minhai, a Swedish national and co-owner of Mighty Current, failed to return from a holiday in Thailand in October.
Hong Kong police are investigating the disappearance of Lui, Cheung, Lam and Lee -- they gave no information on Gui.
Sweden's embassies in Bangkok and Beijing are reportedly investigating Gui's disappearance.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association sent a letter to the Chinese Liaison Office -- Beijing's representative office in the city -- urging authorities to reveal whether the men are in the mainland.
"The incident has caused a high degree of concern and anxiety to Hong Kong residents," the statement said.
Hong Kong publisher Yao Wentian, who was due to release a dissident's book about Chinese President Xi Jinping, was reported to have been detained for almost three months in January 2014.
The following May, Yao, then 73, was sentenced by a Chinese court to 10 years in jail for smuggling.
Exterior of Causeway Bay Books at Lockhart Road in Causeway Bay. Photo: Felix Wong
The mystery over the disappearance of a Hong Kong bookseller who specialises in books critical of the Chinese Communist Party has deepened, with the police saying there is no record of him leaving the city but his wife claiming the bookseller called her from Shenzhen on the day he went missing.
Lee Bo, 65, a majority shareholder in Causeway Bay Books, vanished on Wednesday, just weeks after four associates disappeared in strange circumstances.
“The police told his wife that the force did not find any records of him leaving Hong Kong,” a police source told the Post yesterday.
Lee’s wife said her husband called her from Shenzhen the night he disappeared. “He said he will not be coming back anytime soon. He said he was assisting an investigation. I asked him if it was about the previous cases, he said yes. It was about the missing [associates],” she told Cable TV.
“He later called me again and asked me not to make a scene. I guess it was the Shenzhen police.”
Mrs Lee found it strange that her husband talked to her in Putonghua instead of Cantonese. She said the caller ID was a Shenzhen number. She suspected that Shenzhen officers had taken her husband from Hong Kong.
When Lee said “Shenzhen”, Mrs Lee said he struggled to finish the sentence and she had a feeling he was told not to say anything more. She heard a voice in the background saying “there would be no problem if you co-operate”.
Local media quoted Mrs Lee as saying that she found Lee’s home return permit at home. He called again yesterday and when Mrs Lee said “Let me talk to them”, the phone was immediately hung up.
Lee Bo (above left), a police officer at Causeway Bay Books in Lockhart Road, and the office of the store’s owner, Mighty Current.
According to other reports, police told her he left the publishing house’s Chai Wan warehouse alone with a bag of books. CCTV footage showed he used a lift he did not usually take.
His disappearance is the fifth case related to the bookstore. Gui Minhai, owner of Mighty Current, the publishing house that owns the bookstore, went missing while on holiday in Thailand.
Missing person reports were made on three others: bookstore manager Lam Wing-kei; general manager of the publishing house Lui Bo; and business manager, Cheung Jiping. Police classified them as “missing persons”.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the police were already looking into the case. The Security Bureau said that it would not comment on “speculative reports”.
Under the Basic Law, mainland officers have no right to exercise the law in Hong Kong, let alone make arrests.
Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan believed that Lee was “abducted” by mainland officers.
Former secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said mainland officers had never crossed the border to carry out covert law enforcement during her tenure.
“But if the government has established what happened, it should ... seriously handle the matter and find out if the mainland had made arrests,” she said.
In a letter to Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, legal sector lawmaker Dennis Kwok said: “If proven, the incident would deal a fatal blow to ‘one country, two systems’ and Hong Kong’s judicial independence.”
The Independent Commentators Association and the Hong Kong Journalists Association have written to Tam, the central government’s liaison office director, Zhang Xiaoming (張曉明), and Guangdong’s head of public security, Li Chunsheng. They demanded to know if Lee had been taken away by mainland officers.
Hong Kong leader 'very concerned' over missing booksellers
AFP
January 5, 2016, 1:52 am
Hong Kong (AFP) - Hong Kong's leader said he was "very concerned" Monday over the disappearance of five booksellers known for publications critical of the Chinese government after a prominent lawmaker accused mainland security officers of kidnapping the men.
The booksellers all worked for the same Hong Kong-based publishing house and are feared to have been detained by Chinese authorities, adding to growing unease that freedoms in the semi-autonomous city are being eroded.
Under its mini-constitution, Hong Kong enjoys freedom of speech and Chinese law enforcers have no right to operate in the city.
"I and related government departments are very concerned. The government cares very much about Hong Kong residents' rights and safety," Leung Chun-ying told reporters, saying it would be 'unacceptable' if mainland law enforcers were operating in Hong Kong.
"Only legal enforcement agencies in Hong Kong have the legal authority to enforce laws in Hong Kong," Leung said.
"If mainland law enforcement personnel enforce the law in Hong Kong, it is unacceptable because it is against the Basic Law (the city's constitution)."
Democratic legislator Albert Ho said Sunday he believed the men had been kidnapped by Chinese security officers.
At a regular briefing Monday, Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "I'm not aware of the situation; I have nothing to offer," when asked about the latest bookseller to disappear, Lee Bo, who went missing last week.
But an editorial in the Global Times newspaper, close to China's Communist Party, accused the bookstore run by the missing men of selling publications containing "maliciously fabricated content".
"These books spread to the mainland by various means, becoming a source of political rumours, and creating negative effects," it said.
"Although the... bookstore is based in Hong Kong, it maintains itself by causing trouble in the mainland."
The editorial, signed by Shan Renping, a pen name for the newspaper's editor Hu Xijin, said a "handful" of Hong Kongers were launching "political attacks".
"In the era of the Internet, their impact is not limited to Hong Kong, but also leaks into the mainland, and becomes a genuine problem facing the country," it said.
When Leung was asked Monday whether he thought the men had been taken to the mainland, he said there was "no indication" and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
- Pressure on leader -
Opponents criticised unpopular Leung, who is considered close to Beijing and a hate figure for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.
"The Hong Kong government and Leung Chun-ying should express to the top level on the mainland Hong Kong people's concern, instead of awaiting a reply," said pro-democracy lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan.
Acting secretary for security John Lee said Sunday that Hong Kong police had made enquiries to their mainland counterparts and were yet to hear back, according to local media.
Lawmakers including Hong Kong's pro-Beijing former security chief Regina Ip have urged the government to investigate.
All five men worked for publishing firm Mighty Current, which is rumoured to have been about to launch a book on Chinese President Xi Jinping's former girlfriend.
The latest employee to disappear was 65-year-old Lee, last seen in Hong Kong Wednesday.
His wife said he had told her he was "assisting in an investigation" in a call made after he failed to come home for dinner Wednesday night.
She reported him missing to police on Friday.
Hong Kong police are investigating the disappearance of Lee and of three co-workers who are believed to have gone missing in Shenzhen.
The fifth, a Swedish national, was reported to have disappeared in Thailand.
Sweden's embassies in Bangkok and Beijing are reportedly investigating his disappearance.
Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland.
Hong Kong booksellers disappear after 'planning book on Xi Jinping's love life'
A book on the love life of Chinese president Xi Jinping said to be cause of ‘abductions’ of Hong Kong publishers
Pro-democracy demonstrators hold up portraits of Causeway Bay Books shareholder Lee Bo (R) during a protest Photo: Reuters
By Neil Connor, in Beijing
9:05AM GMT 04 Jan 2016
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a group of Hong Kong publishers after a lawmaker said at least one of the men could have been adducted by Chinese authorities because of plans to publish a book on President Xi Jinping’s love life.
Lee Bo became the fifth man working for the Mighty Current publishing house to have gone missing, it emerged on Friday, after four of his colleagues disappeared in October.
China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan Photo: Reuters
Lee’s wife told media that her husband appeared to have been detained when he visited a warehouse used by the company in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
He later made a brief phonecall home saying he was "assisting in an investigation", using a number across the border in neighbouring Shenzhen.
The publishing house – which also runs the Causeway Bay bookstore - is known for tabloid-style books which are highly critical of Beijing. The books are also increasingly popular among mainland tourists who visit the city.
Democratic legislator Albert Ho told a press conference he believed Lee was “politically abducted and illegally transferred to the mainland,” saying he could have been held in relation to a specific book on the private life of Mr Xi.
"To my knowledge... the book concerns the story about the girlfriend...(from) some years ago," he said.
Maya Wang, China researcher for US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch, said Mighty Current had previously been targeted by Beijing’s censors.
“I know the book sellers have been asked not to publish books in the past,” Ms Wang told The Telegraph.
Protestors hold up missing person notices of (L-R) Mighty Current publisher of books critical of China company's general manager Lui Bo and colleagues Cheung Jiping, Gui Minhai, Lee Bo and Lam Wing-kei in Hong Kong Photo: AFP/Getty Images
“There was one specifically on the party disciplinary system which they did not publish. Some other publisher published it in Hong Kong.”
The case has sparked concern from politicians in Hong Kong over the apparent willingness of Chinese agents to enforce Beijing’s law in the city.
Hong Kong is governed by the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ rule, which gives greater civil rights to its residents than those on the mainland, and forbids Chinese police operating there.
“Now mainland personnel have enforced laws in Hong Kong illegally, will this result in a change of the one country two system?” Democartic party leader Emily Lau Wai-hing said in local media on Monday.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said “It would be unacceptable if mainland law enforcement agents enforce laws in Hong Kong,” according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.
Gui Minhai, a Swedish national and co-owner of the Mighty Current failed to return from a holiday in Thailand in October, while three other associates disappeared when they were visiting southern China, reports said.
Opponents of the Chinese government, including executives who have been ensnared in Beijing’s wide-ranging crackdown on corruption, often disappear before details emerge of them being held by authorities.
David Bandurski, editor of the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong, said Mighty Current publishes the “most sensitive facts and speculation about senior leadership”.
“What this potentially says about the pressures facing freedom of expression in Hong Kong – a protected value here – is potentially immense,” he told The Telegraph.
Police walk past missing person notices of Gui Minhai (L), one of five missing booksellers from the Mighty Current publishing house and Yau Wentian (R), a Hong Kong publisher who was last year jailed for 10 years while preparing to release a book critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping, posted on top of the sign of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong
A named commentary in the fiercely nationalist Global Times newspaper on Monday accused the bookstore of “making a living by disturbing society on the mainland”.
"Whatever has happened, it is rootless to doubt that the policy of one country, two systems is changing and to claim that the mainland will control Hong Kong,” it said.
Missing Hong Kong bookseller is British citizen: UK
AFP
January 5, 2016, 11:56 pm
Hong Kong (AFP) - Britain confirmed Tuesday that one of five missing Hong Kong booksellers feared detained by Chinese authorities is a UK citizen, saying it was "deeply concerned" over the disappearances.
The case has sparked fury from lawmakers and activists in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, adding to growing unease that freedoms in the city are being eroded.
Lee Bo, 65, disappeared last week and was last seen in Hong Kong, where he is a resident.
All five missing men worked for the same Hong Kong-based publishing house Mighty Current, known for books critical of the Chinese government.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, visiting Beijing, told reporters: "We have urgently inquired with both Hong Kong and mainland authorities."
Hammond added that if Lee were charged with any offences, he should be tried in Hong Kong.
Foreign minister Wang Yi did not reply directly when asked whether China had detained the booksellers, but said policy towards Hong Kong remained "unchanged".
"We will continue to uphold the principles of 'one country, two systems', Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong, and a high degree of autonomy," he said.
He was also asked whether China would recognise Lee's British passport.
"Based on the basic law of Hong Kong and China's nationality law, this person in question is first and foremost a Chinese citizen," he said.
China does not recognise dual nationality of its own citizens.
An earlier statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed Lee was a British citizen, saying it was "deeply concerned by reports" about the disappearances.
The FCO urged the Hong Kong government to "honour its commitment" to press freedom.
It added that it hoped Chinese authorities would ensure the environment for media and publishers in Hong Kong supported "full and frank reporting".
- 'I feel unsafe' -
Hong Kong was handed back to Beijing by Britain in 1997 and enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland. Chinese law enforcers have no right to operate in the city.
Police confirmed Tuesday Lee's wife, Sophie Choi, had retracted a report on her husband's disappearance, a move Amnesty said smacked of "intimidation".
"I believe he did it voluntarily, so I cancelled the report," Choi told reporters.
A friend of Lee who volunteers at the book store and did not want to be identified said: "His wife is on the brink of collapse."
He added he too was now afraid.
"I feel unsafe -- I don't know whether the next one will be me," he told reporters.
Amnesty said it was common for Chinese authorities to put pressure on those close to detainees.
"One wonders whether the same sort of intimidation is being used against associates and friends (of the publishers)," said Amnesty International's China researcher William Nee.
Rights groups also questioned the validity of a letter, published by Taiwan's Central News Agency, purportedly faxed to a colleague by Lee on Monday, saying he was well and had reached the mainland using his own means on an "urgent matter".
He said he was "assisting an investigation" but did not elaborate.
Lee's wife has previously said he called her from a number in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen after he went missing.
Police are also probing the disappearances of three other missing employees who were Hong Kong residents.
One is a Swedish national, and embassies in Beijing and Bangkok are investigating his case.
In comments to a lawmakers Tuesday, pro-Beijing legislator Ng Leung-sing accused the five men of smuggling themselves to the mainland to visit prostitutes.
Ng said he had received the information in a message from "a good friend".
Missing Hong Kong bookseller paraded on China state television
AFP
January 18, 2016, 4:00 am
Beijing (AFP) - A missing Hong Kong publisher of books critical of Beijing appeared weeping on state television Sunday, saying he had returned to China to surrender to police 11 years after fleeing a fatal drink driving incident.
Gui Minhai, a Swedish national and co-owner of publisher Mighty Current, failed to return from a holiday in Thailand in October, according to local media, since when a further four employees of the company have gone missing.
The disappearances are the latest incidents to fuel growing unease in Hong Kong over the erosion of freedoms in the city, with fears that the five have been detained by Chinese authorities because of the work they published.
In the interview broadcast on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Gui said he fled the mainland after he was convicted of killing a college student in drink driving incident, despite only being sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence.
"I am taking my legal responsibilities, and am willing to accept any punishment," he said.
During the interview, which took place in a detention centre, Gui sobbed and apologised to the family of the dead student.
Neither Gui nor the accompanying report on CCTV explained how he ended up in police custody in China after last being seen in Thailand.
Sweden has summoned the Chinese and Thai ambassadors and Swedish authorities are reportedly investigating Gui's disappearance. But despite the widespread alarm in the case, Gui urged Stockholm not to intervene.
"Although I now hold the Swedish citizenship, deep down I still think of myself as a Chinese. My roots are in China," he said in the interview. "I hope the Swedish authorities would respect my personal choices, my rights and my privacy, and allow myself to deal with my own issues."
He added: "This is my due responsibility. I do not want anyone or any institution to be involved or get in the way of my returning, nor do I want any malicious media hype."
But Gui's explanation for his detention was immediately met with scepticism by his own daughter, rights groups and Hong Kong media.
Gui's daughter, known only as Angela, said it was not possible he had surrendered voluntarily when quoted by Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily. She said she hoped to visit her father soon.
Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement. It enjoys liberties not seen on the mainland, including freedom of the press and publication.
The other missing employees include the publishing company's general manager Lui Bo, staff member Cheung Jiping, and bookstore manager Lam Wing-kei, all of whom disappeared in southern China in October.
The latest to vanish was Lee Bo, 65, last seen in Hong Kong on December 30.
Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International's East Asia regional director, tweeted: "A very elaborate script, and a skillful mix of truths, half-truths and outright lies."
Missing Hong Kong bookseller in China to answer 11 year-old conviction - state media
Reuters
January 18, 2016, 2:30 am
Books on China politics and senior leaders are displayed inside a bookstore in Hong Kong, China January 8, 2016. Picture taken January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Swedish bookseller whose mysterious disappearance has sparked fears he may have been taken by Chinese agents said he had voluntarily turned himself into the authorities for a drink-driving accident that resulted in a death 11 years ago.
Gui Minhai, who vanished from his apartment in Thailand last October, voluntarily returned to China to answer a conviction from 2004 for killing a student, state media said on Sunday.
"I am returning to surrender by personal choice, it has nothing to do with anyone," Gui, looking distraught, said in a China Central Television broadcast. "This is a personal responsibility that I ought to bear."
Gui, a naturalized Swedish citizen, is one of five members to have gone missing from of a Hong Kong bookstore that specialises in selling gossipy political books on China's Communist Party leaders.
The disappearances and China's silence have prompted fears that mainland Chinese authorities may be using shadowy tactics that erode the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997.
In recent years, state media has publicised a string of what is presented as confessions made by high-profile suspects. Critics say these accounts deprive the accused of the right to a fair trial.
Earlier this month, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said it had raised Gui's case with the Chinese ambassador to Stockholm.
It was not possible to contact Gui and it remains unclear whether he has a lawyer.
DAUGHTER BELIEVES GUI ABDUCTED
Gui's daughter, Angela, who is based in Britain, said she could not confirm what was being reported but that she still believed her father had been abducted and his detention was related to his work.
Gui Minhai cautioned in the report "any individual or organization" against intervening or "engaging in malacious speculation."
His confession was broadcast Sunday night on China Central Television. The official Xinhua News Agency published a separate report.
Gui, who holds a Swedish passport, "surrendered to public security organs" in October, Xinhua said, without providing details about his surrender or transport from Thailand.
Gui was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, after killing a female student in the coastal city of Ningbo while driving drunk, the report said.
Gui fled in August 2006 and his two-year probation was revoked. He is now suspected of other crimes, the report said.
"Although I have Swedish citizenship, I truly feel I'm Chinese, my roots are still in China. So I hope that Sweden will respect my personal choice, respect my rights and privacy and let me solve my own problems," Gui said.
The five missing booksellers include Lee Bo, a British passport holder who disappeared from Hong Kong at the end of last month.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Jan 5 that Lee is "first and foremost a Chinese citizen" and called on others not to make "groundless accusations" on the case.
In a handwritten note dated January 3 and purportedly written and signed by Lee, photos of which were widely circulated on social and local media but couldn't be verified by Reuters, Lee wrote that he had travelled back to China in order to assist with an unspecified "investigation".
The Xinhua report said that "related persons" are cooperating with the investigation, but didn't provide details of whereabout or status of the other missing persons.
(Reporting By Matthew Miller and Sui-Lee Wee; Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong)
Why the case of the Hong Kong booksellers is more of a worry than China’s market woes
Tom Plate says while the economy will surely recover, the same cannot be said of ‘one country, two systems’ unless Beijing moves to clear up the mystery
PUBLISHED : Monday, 18 January, 2016, 5:03pm
UPDATED : Monday, 18 January, 2016, 5:35pm
Tom Plate
Beijing officials need to clean up this mystery, and ensure “one country, two systems” is seen as an example of very smart international politics.Overall, the unfolding drama of China – as viewed on this side of the Pacific, in sunny Los Angeles – has, in the past week or so, seen the vigour of its vim dimmed somewhat.
My worry is not so much the mayhem of the markets and the attendant gangling neuroticism of the gigantic mainland economy. While reports in the world media have been fulsome with negative detail, the fact is that an expanding, multifaceted economy such as China’s was never going to unfold as daintily as a blooming rose or as harmoniously as a Mozart symphony. It was always going to jerk this way and that – imagine an especially neurotic octopus suddenly with even with more legs than normal and a central brain system constantly struggling just to keep count of them all.
An expanding, multifaceted economy such as China’s was never going to unfold as daintily as a blooming rose. Photo: AP
Worry not excessively. China now fields smarty-pants economists as cunning and well schooled as any, anywhere. They will figure a way out, over time, especially if their political masters permit them enough time to do so and display the political guts to back them up. At the end of the day, politics does tend to trump the economists. Consider the highly political – and bizarre – story of the Causeway Bay bookstore and its missing team, including the owner. This macabre mystery rattles many nerves even more than the roiling markets.
READ MORE: Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung hints there’s little he can do about detained bookseller – but Stockholm demands more ‘openness’
Balance and perspective must be maintained until enough verifiable facts are out, and right now there are not many. Over the weekend one of the five, in Thailand, outed himself as a fugitive from mainland criminal justice and turned himself in. But what about the other four in the bookstore gang of five? That’s the Hong Kong worry.
A screen grab from CCTV shows one of the missing booksellers, Gui Minhai, who has allegedly turned himself in to mainland authorities over a hit-and-run accident more than a decade ago. Photo: SCMP Pictures
From China’s hypersensitive viewpoint, “one country, two systems” goes out the window if and when Hong Kong morphs into a base of subversion on its southern flank. If President Xi Jinping ’s (習近平) internal enemies (presumably growing in number and intensity with every new corruption crackdown) are using Hong Kong to spread tawdry and demeaning rumours in order to lower the angelic glow around the boss, mainland security people will want to know every who and all the how. Until his rocked economy regains its footing, Xi might want to dial down the intensity of the ethical evangelicalism. It is not for show that Xi travels with a noticeably large security detail wherever he goes.
Until now, it has seemed unthinkable that the Xi government would regard ‘one country, two systems’ as anything other than canonical
Beijing does not wholly trust Hong Kong. Note that Article 23 of the mutually agreed Basic Law says: “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People’s Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organisations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organisations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organisations or bodies.” Beijing, for its part, takes notice of the fact that, almost two decades after the historic handover, Hong Kong has not done this.
On the other hand, if the allegedly subversive bookstore gang, in whole or part, was spirited or somehow lured over the border by nefarious methods, as many in characteristically suspicious Hong Kong suspect, then this is of course a serious violation of the spirit of “one country, two systems”. Although perhaps not on the same elevated philosophical shelf as the Magna Carta, “one country, two systems” has a lot going for it; for sheer practical ingenuity, it is often underestimated. It’s also a trademark political legacy of Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), who, though he did not invent the idea, was surely its driving, principal proponent. [A Hong Kong police officer stands outside the central government’s liaison office. The case of the missing booksellers has aroused much political unease in the special administrative region. Photo: AFP] A Hong Kong police officer stands outside the central government’s liaison office. The case of the missing booksellers has aroused much political unease in the special administrative region. Photo: AFP
Until now, it has seemed unthinkable that the Xi government would regard “one country, two systems” as anything other than canonical. So, was the bookstore bust an instance of the “Mao” Xi at clandestine work behind the scenes; or, instead, of just some “Mission Ridiculous”, Watergate-style bozo operation designed to ingratiate provincial security agents with higher-ups? The bookstore’s shelves stocked tabloidian tomes of Clintonesque-type flings by Chinese VIPs .
At this writing, technically, based on the scant facts that exist, no law has been broken. Still, Beijing should clean up this mystery, make an example of the “Mission Ridiculous” boys (if such is the true story), and work better with Hong Kong on the vital job of making “one country, two systems” an exemplar of very smart 21st-century international politics. But Hongkongers have to accept reality: Beijing is sovereign. A famous Chinese saying applies here: “However ugly your parents are, they are still your parents.” [The election of Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, as Taiwan’s president is not the best news for any unification timetable. Photo: AFP] The election of Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, as Taiwan’s president is not the best news for any unification timetable. Photo: AFP
But Beijing cannot behave as the beastly bull in the greater China shop, especially if it wants smooth sailing in Hong Kong and prays, some day, for the historic mainland docking by Taiwan. One notes that the island’s pro-independence political party just nailed a smashing victory to regain power with the island’s first female president. This is not the best news for any unification timetable. Unless the PRC plans an invasion, then endless patience for Taiwan as well as Hong Kong (as prickly as the wonderful territory can be) remains the smart policy approach. Exercising the force option would set back China more than any number of market corrections – and launch a thousand unfriendly new books, on sale almost everywhere.
Columnist Tom Plate, Loyola Marymount University’s Distinguished Scholar of Asian and Pacific Studies, is the author of the “Giants of Asia” series
Guangdong police insists communication with Hong Kong is effective, a month on from bookseller Lee Po’s disappearance
Force breaks silence to say information on the case will be relayed ‘in a timely fashion’
Guangdong public security chief Li Chunsheng, and Lee Po. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Guangdong police have broken their silence over missing bookseller Lee Po, a month after he was last seen in Hong Kong, only to say there’s nothing new to report.
Their one-page official reply to the Hong Kong media was instantly criticised yesterday as it offered no answer to the local police force’s request for a meeting with Lee.
His case, which followed the disappearance of four of his associates at Causeway Bay Books, has raised alarm locally and internationally, amid suspicion that Lee, a British passport holder, may have been illegally kidnapped and spirited across the border by mainland security agents.
The Guangdong Public Security Department stated:“At present we have no further news. If there is news, we will notify [Hong Kong] in a timely fashion.”
It repeated two pieces of information already released by Hong Kong police days ago: that Lee has written a letter saying he was not abducted and went to the mainland “of his own accord” to assist in an investigation; and that mainland authorities have replied to their Hong Kong counterparts confirming that Lee was “understood” to be on the mainland.
The Guangdong side rejected accusations that the cross-border police notification mechanism had failed, insisting such channels were “smooth and effective”.
Cooperation between the two jurisdictions would continue to help ensure “social stability of both places”, Guangdong police added.
They also appealed for understanding from the Hong Kong media, saying the city’s journalists had played a critical role in the “improvement” of Guangdong police work and the stability of the two jurisdictions.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, a local deputy to the National People’s Congress, rejected the statement.
“Hong Kong police did not ask whether Lee entered the mainland voluntarily or not. They asked for a meeting with Lee and that is the question,” he said. “But the [statement] did not answer this.”
Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing questioned why the provincial authorities did not respond to the Hong Kong government’s request while they wrote to the media.
In another development, detectives from Sweden travelled to Thailand to look into the disappearance of bookseller Gui Minhai, a Swedish national, who vanished in Pattaya and later resurfaced in mainland custody.
Major General Apichart Suriboonya, head of Thai Foreign Affairs Police, said the Swedish officers were sent to “help expedite” their investigation.
A remorseful Gui was paraded on Chinese state television about two weeks ago, saying he had returned to the mainland over a fatal accident he was involved in 12 years ago.
Sweden’s foreign ministry said last night: “We take a very serious view of the fact that the Chinese authorities have still not given us any clarification of what has happened.”
Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee were confirmed to be in custody on the mainland. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Guangdong police confirmed on Thursday for the first time that three Hong Kong booksellers who had not been heard of since they went missing last October were being investigated in mainland China.
They also told Hong Kong *police that missing Causeway Bay Books owner Lee Po, who is also on the mainland, had rejected their request to meet him.
After Gui Minhai, another bookseller missing since October, earlier said on state TV that he had turned himself in over a fatal *accident he was involved in 12 years ago, the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department said on Thursday night that his three *colleagues were suspected to be involved in Gui’s case and were also “involved in illegal activities on the mainland”.
This was the first time Guangdong police had confirmed that Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee were in custody on the mainland.
“Criminal compulsory measures were imposed on them and they were under investigation,” Guangdong police wrote in a letter to their Hong Kong counterparts.
They enclosed a letter from Lee stating that relevant authorities had informed him of a request by Hong Kong police to meet with him on the mainland. He wrote that he “did not need to meet with them at the moment” and would contact them if he wished to do so. Lee’s wife confirmed his handwriting when she was shown the letter.
Hong Kong police last night said they had written again to the Guangdong side requesting help in following up the case of Lui, Cheung and Lam, and asking them to pass on a message to Lee that police still wanted to meet with him as soon as possible.
The latest development is unlikely to curb speculation in Hong Kong that the booksellers were kidnapped and taken to the mainland by security agents from across the border acting beyond their jurisdiction.
It is widely believed they got into trouble for selling books critical of the Chinese Communist Party.
The piecemeal release of information and questionable explanations by mainland authorities have added to fears that Hong Kong’s autonomy has been undermined.
Of the five booksellers, Gui, a Swedish national, had been missing for the longest.
He appeared on CCTV earlier, claiming he had been fleeing from a suspended two-year jail term since causing the death of a 23-year-old university student while drunk-driving in Ningbo, Zhejiang province in 2004.
The CCTV report also stated Gui had been involved in other criminal activities, and the “related persons” were also being investigated.
Gui reportedly disappeared while on holiday in Thailand in October.
Lee, a major shareholder in Causeway Bay Books, went missing in Chai Wan on December 30.
Three missing Hong Kong booksellers could be back home ‘soon’ after mainland detention
Due to their ‘good attitude’ , Lam Wing-kei, Lui Por and Cheung Ji-ping might be granted bail pending trial amid revelations unlicensed publications were mailed to the mainland
A visitor outside Causeway Bay Books looks at a poster showing the missing booksellers. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
The missing five booksellers from Causeway Bay Books mailed unlicensed publications into the mainland, a Chinese media outlet reported on Sunday night.
The report, the first from mainland media to link the disappearance of the five booksellers to their business in books “not yet approved”, also hinted that three of the booksellers currently detained by mainland authorities could go home soon.
Shanghai-based online portal Thepaper.cn, citing police information, reported that one of the five missing booksellers, Gui Minhai, co-owner of publishing house Mighty Current, had ordered his associates – Mighty Current general manager Lui Por, Causeway Bay Books manager Lam Wing-kei, and Lui’s assistant Cheung Ji-ping – to mail 4,000 such books to 380 buyers across 28 mainland cities and provinces since October 2014.
Causeway Bay Books is owned by the publishing house.
Watch: Hong Kong’s missing booksellers - a timeline of events
The report said Gui, a mainland-born Swedish national, set up Mighty Current publishing company in 2012, acquiring Causeway Bay Books in 2014. Gui hired Lam as the bookstore manager.
Under Gui’s orders, Lam, Lui and Cheung allegedly sold the books to mainland readers. Knowing that the books were not yet approved by the mainland’s press and publication authority, they altered the covers and sent the books via the postal service to avoid customs inspections.
The booksellers also allegedly opened a bank account on the mainland specifically used to receive payment from mainland customers for the books, the report said.
“In some places the postal services might not be able to reach, I arranged for my friends on the mainland to help forwarding the books to the buyers,” it quoted Lam as saying.
The report did not provide an update on Mighty Current co-owner Lee Po, whose disappearance triggered widespread concern in Hong Kong, but instead repeated previous reports that he had willingly to return to the mainland to assist in the investigation on Gui, and had testified against the latter.
Last month, Gui made an explosive appearance on state-run CCTV, claiming he had surrendered to the mainland authorities over a car crash more than a decade ago, in which he killed a woman.
The report by Thepaper.cn said the accident happened in Ningbo in 2003, and Gui fled China in November 2004 because he did not want to be jailed.
Gui said he had decided to return to the mainland last June because he felt guilty for missing his father’s funeral, and he wanted to see his old mother. Authorities allegedly found clues to Gui’s other crimes when looking into the crash and launched an investigation.
The report said Lui, Lam and Cheung were arrested in Shenzhen and Dongguan on October 17 and 24, and had confessed to their crimes.
“What I have done was under the influence of Gui. It was Gui dragging me down the path of crime,” Lui was quoted as saying. He allegedly said that Gui had never paid him the promised dividends from the book sales.
Lam reportedly said Gui had asked him to sell more books in the mainland, and that the content of the books was fabricated, or compiled from information downloaded from the internet.
A screen grab from CCTV showing missing Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Cheung reportedly said he had brought the money from the book sales from the mainland to Hong Kong under Gui’s instructions.
In an apparent attempt to address widespread public suspicion in Hong Kong that the fatal crash was a mere fabrication due to discrepancies in Gui’s age in different reports carried by state media, the Thepaper.cn said that Gui had obtained a mainland driving license with a fake identification document showing a different date of birth.
The report concluded by saying that due to their “good attitude”, Lam, Lui and Cheung might be granted bail pending trial and might return to Hong Kong in the near future.
