Arrests of bookstore owners and employees in Hong Kong for carrying volumes that “threaten national security” (i.e., present facts and views reprobated by the Chinese Communist Party) continue apace.
The New York Times reports that police have detained five persons in the latest raid on independent bookstores “as part of a broad national security crackdown.”
You’ve got to be better at censoring, “Hong Kong’s security chief” admonishes booksellers (South China Morning Post, July 16, 2026).
Hong Kong’s security chief has warned that booksellers are responsible for ensuring their titles do not violate national security legislation, a day after police raided two independent stores and arrested five people on suspicion of sedition.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung also reiterated on Thursday that the government would not compile a list of “banned books”, arguing that doing so would allow offenders to bypass the law by simply changing a title.
Tang’s comments came after police searched Have a Nice Stay bookshop in Prince Edward and Greenfield Book Store in Mong Kok on Wednesday.
Officers seized books and arrested five people for allegedly displaying and selling seditious publications….
Under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the maximum punishment for committing an act with seditious intent is seven years in prison….
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te took to Facebook on Thursday to express concern over the raids, saying they could curtail freedoms and limit the space for public discussion.
“We express our concern and respect to all bookstores and cultural workers who have remained in their positions despite the difficulties they face,” he wrote. “We also hope that the diverse voices and basic rights in Hong Kong will be respected and protected.”
Clearly, the national security of the People’s Republic of China is more fragile than a calcium-deficient eggshell. Any hint of unfettered discussion might destroy it. What is the solution?
Hong Kong’s bookstore owners and employees can avoid all risk of jeopardizing what is called “national security” if they just dump all their present stock and cram the shelves with Xi Jinping Thought and The Little Red Book instead. The booksellers’ work would now lack meaning, purpose, and remuneration—but they wouldn’t get arrested.
