Hong Kong police arrest five in third raid on independent bookstores for seditious books

Raids and arrests

On 15 July, national security police raided two independent bookstores in Kowloon's Mong Kok district: Have A Nice Stay, founded by former journalists, and Greenfield Book Store. Officers seized boxes of books and arrested two men, aged 37 and 57, and three women aged 30 to 59, on suspicion of displaying and selling publications with "seditious intention." The charge, under Hong Kong's 2024 national security law, carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. The police said the books incited hatred against the Hong Kong government, the judiciary, and law enforcement, but did not name the titles.

A pattern of crackdowns

The raids mark the third wave of arrests targeting independent booksellers this year. In March, four people were detained at Book Punch; in June, two employees of Hunter Bookstore were arrested, including former pro-democracy district councillor Leticia Wong. Wong had previously documented 92 inspections or official actions against her shop between 2022 and 2025. The latest operation coincided with the opening of the Hong Kong Book Fair, where two other independent bookstores, Elmbook and Luck Win, were barred from exhibiting.

The elusive "red lines"

Have A Nice Stay had announced a day before the raid that it would close on 30 August, citing financial difficulties and an "elusive red line" that made it impossible to know which books might be deemed illegal.

Our capacity is limited, let alone determine which ones might be deemed 'problematic'.

The store, founded by former journalists, added in a separate statement:

For us, books are a space of knowledge and ideas, and this space should be without limits.

Official response

Hong Kong's security chief, Chris Tang, defended the operation on Thursday.

If you are a bookseller, you have the responsibility to ensure that the books you sell do not endanger national security.

He compared the duty to that of a food seller ensuring their products do not cause stomach aches or contain poison. Tang said the law is clear and that no list of banned books would be published; authorities would focus on content rather than titles.

If you break the law, you have crossed the red line.

International condemnation

Amnesty International condemned the raids.

The frightening reality into which the city has transformed: a place where you can be criminalized simply for what you have on your shelf.

Human Rights Watch said the arrests showed that the Chinese government "fears free thinking." The crackdown follows the imposition of Beijing's national security law in 2020 and a local sedition ordinance in 2024, which have steadily narrowed the space for independent publishing in the former British colony.