Hong Kong national security police have arrested a man over allegedly importing “seditious books” in the latest law enforcement action following a crackdown on independent bookstores earlier this year.
The Hong Kong Police Force emblem. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP.Police said in a statement on Thursday that they had arrested a 34-year-old man in Mong Kok.
He was suspected of “importing a publication that has a seditious intention” – a crime under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, also known as Article 23.
The arrestee is understood to be Brandon Yau, a project manager at Waiting Bird, a group that supports people jailed in politics-related cases. The books were imported to be sold at As One, its partner retail outlet whose revenue goes towards the group.
On Monday, Waiting Bird said in a social media post that Customs had seized around 60 books from a shipment that came from Taiwan.
The group said the books confiscated were “rational discussions about current affairs, and personal experiences and feelings, with no connection whatsoever to seditious intentions.”
In the statement, police said the person arrested was a company director “suspected of importing seditious books into local bookstores with the intent to bring hatred, contempt or disaffection” to the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.
As One in Prince Edward. Photo: Nidou Workspace, via Google Maps.Officers also searched the man’s residence and company premises, seizing items including digital devices used to purchase the books, as well as documents and other publications suspected of having seditious intention.
The man has been detained for investigation. Importing a publication with seditious intention carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.
Hong Kong authorities have tightened scrutiny of independent bookstores this year. Bookstore owners have said that books ordered from Taiwan – the source for many Chinese-language titles – are frequently inspected by Customs.
Staff from Book Punch were arrested in March, and staff from Hunter Bookstore were apprehended in June.
In July, staff from Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore were arrested on the same day. A day before the arrests, Have a Nice Stay announced it would close down after four years in operation.
Following the arrests, Greenfield Bookstore also said it would shut after its lease expired next year.