Bookseller Lam Wing-kee attacked with red paint

Attack on the bookseller comes soon after he accused the Chinese Communist Party of trying to scuttle his new venture. File photo: AFP

Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee was splashed with red paint in Taipei on Tuesday morning after accusing the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) of registering a fake bookstore with the same name as his new shop.



According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, Lam was having breakfast at a café in Taipei’s Zhongshan district around 9am when the attack happened. The area is close to the location of his bookstore which is to open this weekend.



The report said the unknown assailant poured red paint on Lam and then fled.



He went to Taipei City Zhongshan Police Department to file a report and was filmed leaving the station shortly after with his arms and hair covered in paint. He then got into a car without answering questions from reporters gathered outside.



"Some people don't want me to open the bookshop in Taiwan," Lam later said, describing the attack as a threat by supporters of Beijing.



Police are hunting for the assailant, reviewing security camera footage from the scene.



On Monday, Lam revealed that he received a legal letter accusing him of trademark infringement, as the name “Causeway Bay Books” was taken by another company that registered the name in March.



Lam was one of five people linked to the bookstore in Causeway Bay who vanished at the end of 2015. All of them later resurfaced on the mainland and were accused of various crimes there.



Lam returned to Hong Kong on bail and revealed the details of how he was taken away by some "security forces" on the mainland and detained for weeks.



He fled to Taiwan in April last year citing fears he would be extradited to the mainland under the new laws Hong Kong was planning at the time, but which were shelved after the massive protests they sparked.



The incident on Tuesday was the latest attack on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in Taiwan. Activists had said last year that they were coming under increased surveillance and harassment from pro-Beijing media outlets and unofficial "operatives".



Hong Kong singer and activist Denise Ho was attacked in September by a masked man who threw red paint at her at a pro-Hong Kong democracy rally in Taipei. (Additional reporting by Reuters)