Hong Kong’s independent Hunter Bookstore was searched and sealed by police on Wednesday, June 24. The Police National Security Department arrested two people, including the bookstore’s owner, Wong Man-suen, reported Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP).
Following the March raid on One Punch Bookstore, this is another instance of Hong Kong authorities invoking the National Security Law to target an independent bookstore, carrying out a search and arresting its owner.
The incident has prompted condemnation from multiple human rights organizations.
Hunter Bookstore sealed, two arrested
According to multiple media reports, the Hong Kong Police National Security Department said the two individuals were arrested for allegedly selling and displaying publications deemed to have “seditious intent,” including a biography of Jimmy Lai.
The National Security Department also stated that the bookstore regularly organized lectures and discussion events aimed at young people, and that the content of these events allegedly incited hatred against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies.
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In addition, bookstore owner Wong Man-suen, who is also a former pro-democracy district councilor, was accused of receiving multiple suspicious payments allegedly related to money laundering.
Police said the two suspects were arrested on suspicion of violating: Article 24 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which criminalizes committing acts with seditious intent; and Section 25 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, which prohibits dealing with property known or believed to represent the proceeds of an indictable offense.
Under Hong Kong law, both offenses are classified as serious crimes. A conviction for committing acts with seditious intent carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, while dealing with the proceeds of an indictable offense carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.
According to Ming Pao, Hunter Bookstore was singled out in a front-page article published by Wen Wei Po in July last year.
The article claimed that the bookstore’s “Read Everywhere” Independent Book Fair and Independent Bookstore Festival was imbued with elements of “soft resistance.”
A Wen Wei Po reporter who conducted an undercover visit to the bookstore alleged that it sold books that “disseminated a large amount of anti-China and destabilizing-Hong Kong messages.” The report also claimed that bookstore staff acknowledged that participating bookstores at the fair would be selling Jimmy Lai: A Biography.
The report further accused bookstore owner Wong Man-suen of using the book fair to boost business for more than 20 “yellow-ribbon” restaurants and retail shops in the Sham Shui Po district, thereby creating what it described as a “soft resistance” black economic circle.
Human rights organizations: Hong Kong’s national security system is ‘absurd and dangerous’
According to The Photon (追光者), Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, criticized the Hong Kong government for treating the sale of books and the organization of public talks as criminal acts. She said the arrests “reveal the absurdity and danger of Hong Kong’s national security system.”
Pearson added that as Beijing has tightened its control over Hong Kong, “the city is losing its openness, along with the diversity of ideas and viewpoints that once defined it.”
Hong Kong Watch suggested that the government’s allegations against Hunter Bookstore were linked to its sale of The Biography of Jimmy Lai and its regular public talks featuring former members of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp. The organization argued that the international community must pay attention to yet another independent bookstore in Hong Kong facing such treatment and accused the Hong Kong government of weaponizing the National Security Law.
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK) quoted its chairman, Mark Clifford, the author of The Biography of Jimmy Lai, who said: “A government that fears a book fears the truth.”
The foundation described Wong Man-suen as “a peaceful advocate for freedom of expression.” It argued that her arrest was not merely an act of censoring so-called “sensitive” books, but an assault on Hong Kong’s remaining space for freedom of thought and public discussion.
‘Money laundering’ charge may be treated as a national security offense
Current affairs commentator Sang Pu observed that, from the case involving One Punch Bookstore to the latest action against Hunter Bookstore, the Hong Kong government appears to bring a national security case against an independent bookstore every few months, or even every quarter. He likened the pattern to fulfilling a “key performance indicator (KPI)” to report to the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office and the Central Government Liaison Office.
Sang noted that in this case the authorities invoked the new sedition offense under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, while also adding a money laundering charge under Section 25 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance. He believes the authorities are attempting to treat money laundering as a national security-related offense, thereby bringing the entire case under the national security legal framework. According to Sang, the objective is to secure comprehensive control over all aspects of governance in Hong Kong, which he said reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s current direction.
Sang added that people who remain in Hong Kong “all feel personally at risk and uncertain about the consequences”of their actions. He said that those who have chosen to stay in Hong Kong, continue operating bookstores, and face these circumstances with courage deserve tremendous respect and admiration, regardless of their age.
According to available information, this is the second time that Hong Kong’s Police National Security Department has arrested a bookstore owner on national security-related charges. In March this year, Pang Yiming, the owner of One Punch Bookstore, along with three bookstore employees, was arrested on suspicion of selling publications with seditious intent, including The Biography of Jimmy Lai. Following an investigation, all four were released on bail pending further inquiries.
The case sparked widespread public debate over the boundaries of publishing and reading freedoms in Hong Kong.
