Lam Wing-kee plans to open an offshoot of Causeway Bay Books in self-governed Taiwan as a ‘symbol of resistance’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old



One of the five Hong Kong booksellers abducted by China in 2015 for running an independent bookstore selling politically sensitive books has vowed to reopen his shop in neighbouring democratic Taiwan.

Lam Wing-kee, 62, who was detained in China for eight months, told Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review that he planned to open Causeway Bay Books in self-governed Taiwan as a “symbol of resistance”.

“Hong Kong’s protection for the fourth estate is just incomparable with [that of] Taiwan,” he said.

Chinese agents acted like triads, says bookseller in abduction row Read more

The former Causeway manager said the store, which was known for selling books critical of Chinese leaders, was scheduled to open in the second half of the year and would be funded by anonymous pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong.

“It’s 90% for sure now. The only thing is to find the right people and place,” he said, adding that he would serve as an adviser and not run day-to-day operations. He has previously pledged to stay in Hong Kong to “fight for democratic changes”.

Bei Ling, a dissident Chinese poet and chairman of the Taiwan-based independent Chinese PEN Center, confirmed the plans to open Lam’s bookshop, and said that locations were being scouted in Taipei and other Taiwanese cities.

Ling, who hosted Lam at a Taipei book fair in February, said that efforts were also underway to organise a forum for independent Chinese-language publishers that would feature workshops on how to protect freedom of expression.

Lam is only one of the five abductees who has spoken publicly of his experience. Four have since been released, but Gui Minhai, a Swedish national who was abducted while holidaying in Thailand, still remains in detention.

“Thinking of my father today as he spends his second birthday in detention. He’s turning 53,” his daughter, Angela Gui, wrote on Twitter this weekend.

The abduction of the booksellers between October and December 2015 added to fears about the erosion of democracy in the former British colony since its return to China in 1997.

Taiwan, a self-governed democracy which Beijing views as a renegade province that will eventually rejoin the mainland, has in recent years developed a strong tradition of independent bookstores and media freedom.

Lam said he was impressed with the bookstore network, which he hoped “can help sow the seeds of new ideas in Hong Kong”.

“Amid concerns in Hong Kong about the future of ‘one country, two systems’, by comparison Taiwan appears to offer wide latitude for public discourse and criticism of government officials,” said Ross Feingold, a political analyst who advises on Taiwan and Hong Kong political affairs.

“Whether a bookstore that offers materials critical of personalities in China appeals to Taiwan readers, or whether a Taiwan location can be an effective platform to reach the original customer base of Hong Kong readers remains to be seen.”

Lam could not be contacted immediately for comment. Over the past few days he travelled to the US to join student activist Joshua Wong and former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten in urging Washington to take a tougher line on Beijing over human rights violations.

“President Xi Jinping must be told that the eyes of the world are on China, and on Hong Kong,” Lam told a congressional hearing, urging Congress to hold more meetings that “would be beneficial to people like me”.