Dozens of bookworms squeezed into Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay on Sunday for its final day in business, paying tribute to the shop that was raided by national security police last month.
Have a Nice Stay co-founder Sum Wan-wah waves to his customers on the final operating day of his independent bookshop in Prince Edward, on August 30, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Over the past week, fans had formed long queues winding up the Prince Edward tenement building where Have a Nice Stay is located, following the bookshop’s announcement that it would hold a five-day clearance sale before closing its doors forever.
At about 9pm on Sunday, Have a Nice Stay co-founder Sum Wan-wah thanked customers for their support and wished them well as he prepared to pull down the shutters.
Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay on its last day in business on August 30, 2026. Cards on the wall read: “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door.” Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.“Take care, everyone. Have a Nice Stay will cease operation from today,” Sum told customers and reporters in Cantonese before closing the door to the bookshop he operated for four years.
Sum was among five independent booksellers arrested last month by the city’s national security police on suspicion of sedition. Three of the arrestees worked at Have a Nice Stay, while the other two were staffers at the 50-year-old Greenfield Bookstore in Mong Kok.
Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay, on August 30, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Police also raided the two stores, seizing allegedly seditious materials. The five were later granted bail pending police investigations.
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A day before the raid, Have a Nice Stay announced that it would close by August 30, citing “unclear red lines” and financial struggles.
Supporters line up to enter Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay on its final day of operation on August 30, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.The arrests marked an escalation in a national security crackdown on the city’s independent booksellers, and came after arrests at Book Punch in March and Hunter Bookstore in June.
Have a Nice Stay closed for weeks following the raid, opening only for the clearance sale that began last Wednesday.
Supporters flocked over from across the city, many lining up patiently along the steps leading up to the third-floor bookshop. Two electric fans were set up in the staircase to alleviate the suffocating heat.
Supporters – including former lawmaker Emily Lau in green – filled Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay on its closing day on August 30, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Inside the shop, customers browsed through titles – many printed by the city’s independent publishers – under a message that read in Chinese: “Thank you for the love you have given to Have a Nice Stay over the past few years.”
“There is a time to gather and a time to scatter. We shall meet again.”
Have a Nice Stay was founded in 2022 by a group of former journalists from the now-shuttered media outlet Stand News, selling titles mostly relating to journalism and the social sciences.
Supporters filled Hong Kong independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay on its last day of operation on August 30, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Following the police raid last month, Greenfield Bookstore also announced that it will close down when its current lease expires.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang has said that booksellers have the responsibility to ensure the titles on their shelves do not threaten national security, and that authorities will not compile a list of “banned publications.”
Tang also said the law was “clear” and that authorities did not target specific sectors when it comes to safeguarding national security.