More "Confessions" from Missing Booksellers

In a Phoenix TV interview, Lee Po says he willingly returned to the mainland

Things are getting weirder in the case of the missing booksellers.

Six weeks after Hong Kong police requested to meet with one of the five, Lee Po, who runs Causeway Bay Books, a police officer and immigration officer finally saw him face to face, at a guest house in an undisclosed location at Lee's request.

He told the pair he went to the mainland of his own free will, that he had not been abducted, but refused to elaborate. He even reiterated he was free and safe in the mainland and that he was helping with an investigation involving another missing bookseller, Gui Minhai.

Lee repeated his request for the police to end their investigation into his case and that he didn't need any help from the Hong Kong government. He said he would return home once the investigation was over.

Then yesterday the three other missing booksellers appeared on state television, the first time they were seen since they were reported missing in October.

CW top left: Gui Minhai, Lui Por, Lam Wing-kei, Cheung Chi-ping

The three made confessions on TV, admitting to "operating an illegal business" on the mainland.

Phoenix Television reported that Gui had allegedly ordered his associates -- Mighty Current general manager Lui Por, Causeway Bay Books manager Lam Wing-kee and Lui's assistant Cheung Chi-ping -- to mail 4,000 unauthorized books to 380 buyers in 28 mainland cities and provinces since October 2014.

The booksellers allegedly opened a bank account on the mainland to receive payment from mainland customers.

Nevertheless Lui, Lam and Cheung could be granted bail pending trial and return to Hong Kong soon due to their "good attitude", the Phoenix TV report said.

Gui also appeared on television, wearing the same grey jacket he wore in his first appearance, admitting to drunk driving and allegedly killing a young woman in 2003.

This time Gui said he and the three others studied ways to smuggle books across the border, including wrapping the covers with other books and then packaging them in black nylon bags to make it hard for the authorities to X-ray the books.

He added the books also escaped detection because they were loaded into trucks carrying other goods.

Causeway Bay Books manager Lam also said the books they produced were fabricated.

"The contents are compiled from information downloaded from the internet or from magazines. They created rumours and bad influences in the society," Lam said on TV.

The Chinese authorities are making the story more and more bizarre. They say the end is in sight for three accomplices once they go through some kind of legal process, but what about Lee and Gui? When will they be allowed to return to Hong Kong?

Even better Lee has said that he will renounce his British passport. Really? Has the Chinese government offered him permanent residency and a hukou because he has "special talents"?

Skeptical Hong Kong people continue to be shocked and appalled by the latest developments. As we've said before, the longer the Chinese authorities keep these five booksellers, the greater our distrust of Beijing...

Last Day of the Sheep

Beautiful Japanese orchids for sale at Victoria Park

On Chinese New Year Eve, we did the customary cleaning out the flat, stocked up on food, and headed to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.

Lots of orchids for sale, by the boatloads...

It wasn't particularly packed, but what was most annoying was that the sun was shining overhead with no shade and we were overdressed, leading to patience wearing thin.

We didn't go through the entire fair, but had a decent taste of it. Ever heard of a rice cooker where you can also make cakes and souffle in it? HKTV even had a stall selling various goods including DVDs of its popular series Election for HK$100.

Afterwards as we headed to the MTR station behind Sogo, which is also where Causeway Bay Book Store is. In front of it was a man doing his own artistic protest. He dipped his hand into soapy water and shampooed his hair, then took a handful of suds and placed them carefully on the ground, creating a kind of bubbly white trail.

An artistic protest about missing booksellers with shampoo

It was meant to make fun of pro-government lawmaker Ng Leung-sing, who in early January said in the Legislative Council that the five missing booksellers had gone to the mainland to have fun with prostitutes.

This was the young man's way of keeping the story alive, and getting an audience of curious onlookers.

Meanwhile off to the side, an artist was painting the entrance to the bookstore (it's actually a stairwell), and the shops next to it, while also recording the performance artist on his smartphone.

An artist painting the scene at the bookshop

It's a strange way to mark the end of the Year of the Sheep, but who knows how mischievous the Year of the Monkey will be. Things don't look too promising for the five. We can only continue to shed a spotlight on them to remind people of their plight...

The Missing Booksellers Saga Continues

The five missing booksellers are in custody by Guangdong police

The plight of the missing booksellers continues with three of them who have not been heard from since last October are now being held by Guangdong police, and that the trio are under investigation.

In addition, even though the Hong Kong police put in a request last night to speak to Lee Po in order to get more information about the trio, he apparently rebuffed them.

This is now confirmation that the Chinese authorities have Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee in custody and they along with Gui Minhai and Lee Po have been suspected to be "involved in illegal activities on the mainland".

"Criminal compulsory measures were imposed on them and they were under investigation," Guangdong police wrote in a letter to their Hong Kong counterparts.

Gossipy books about Chinese leaders on sale in Hong Kong

They included a letter apparently from Lee stating that he "did not need to meet with them at the moment" and would contact them if he wished to do so. Lee's wife confirmed it was her husband's handwriting when she was shown the letter.

The story of the missing booksellers seems to be getting murkier and murkier... why wouldn't Lee want to meet with the Hong Kong authorities? How much longer will they be held for?

Some believe the five are being punished as a warning to others not to publish salacious books about senior Chinese leaders, despite the voracious market for them, and Mighty Current had a big corner on the market.

It published about five books a month, about 50 in a year, making up one-third of the market. Most of the readers were from the mainland, who would come to Hong Kong to buy these books to find out more information (truth or not) about their leaders.

Veteran journalist and writer Ching Cheong believes one of the main reasons why the Chinese authorities want to shut publishers like Mighty Current down is that political factions regularly leak information to publishers like Gui Minhai to embarrass their rivals.

Ironically while Causeway Bay Books is still shut, its books are selling at a political party's stall at the New Year fair in Victoria Park. Word is still getting out...

The Must-Have Item for Chinese New Year

Massive crowds descend on Victoria Park to check out Chinese New Year items

Today is the start of the Chinese New Year fair at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and the stalls are typically selling decorations, home ware, toys, silly items, flowers, and food.

But this year's must-have item is a copy of the so-called banned books from Causeway Bay Books that is still closed and its five booksellers still missing and presumed on the mainland.

Political parties use the fair as a chance to meet the public and solicit for donations, and this time the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has stocked its stall with more than 1,000 copies of titles from the bookstore, that specializes in politically sensitive titles banned on the mainland.

Albert Ho's party is selling books from Causeway Bay Books

"These kinds of books have been sold in Hong Kong for decades... The free flow of information is a vital part of the city's way of life... We have to defend this freedom. Localist sentiment has been gaining prominence in Hong Kong, but it's still important to understand the mainland's political landscape," explained Alliance chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan.

He said the alliance decided to sell the books because the store's warehouse was being forced to relocate and the books would have been thrown away if they weren't sold.

It's very interesting how the political party got access to the books. Who gave them permission to sell them? Nevertheless, the books will probably sell well as a symbol of support for the missing booksellers.

Perhaps someone across the border thinks that as time goes by, the story of the five will fade, but not for Hong Kong people. As each day passes, their hopes fade a bit more and worries about their own safety increase.

Hong Kong Video Plea goes Viral

Agnes Chow in a screen grab from the video posted on her Facebook page

A month ago, Agnes Chow Ting sent out a video plea on Facebook. Called "An urgent cry from Hong Kong" the video shows her reading out a letter in English, talking about the disappearance of the five booksellers, and how it was important to find out what happened to them.

That video went viral and was seen by over 1 million times and shared 13,000 times.
"I was quite surprised [when the video went viral]. It shows that people all over the world care about what is happening in Hong Kong -- they are shocked by it. I hope people will lean about the political situation and keep their eye on Hong Kong. I am really happy that everyone is showing their support," the Baptist University student and core member of Scholarism said.

"This is the first time that we are aware of Hong Kong people being taken to the mainland because of political feelings about Chinese President Xi Jinping."

Over a week ago Gui Minhai made a strange confession on state television, admitting to killing a young woman in a drunk driving accident in Zhejiang province in 2003, while Lee Po's wife was able to see her husband over a week ago in an undisclosed location on the mainland.

The other three associates have not been heard from since they disappeared.

Chow says more protests need to be organized to further pressure the Chinese government to reveal what has happened to the five people.

"I hope people will start to care more about the booksellers. This case shows we do not have the kind of freedoms we should," she said.

In her video, Chow talks about how Hong Kong people believed that with "one country, two systems", their rights and freedoms would be upheld.

"In the past, we were safe because we lived in Hong Kong instead of mainland China. However, the circumstances have changed with the abduction which was suspected to be done by the police in China towards this bookseller who kept being low profile before."

As a result, in the video, Chow says she fears for her safety too.

"I hope everyone in the world who believes in universal values of freedom and human rights could stand up and speak for this incident to stop the political suppression," she says.

"Even I am afraid of my personal safety after this incident. I still believe we should continuously fight for freedom from fear because it is an important core value that we should uphold."

In the end Chow quotes from German pastor Martin Niemöller, who became an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler and voiced his regret for not doing enough for the victims of Nazi rule.

First they came for the activists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not an activist.

Then they came for the journalists and I did not speak out. Because I was not a journalist.

Then they came for the bookseller, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a bookseller.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.

Reality Stranger than Fiction

Gui on state media apparently admitting guilt to a fatal drunk driving incident

The case of the missing booksellers has taken a bizarre twist, as one of them, Gui Minhai, who holds a Swedish passport, suddenly emerged on Sunday on Chinese state television.

The co-owner of Mighty Current publishing company looked pained as he seemed to read from a statement admitting he fled the mainland to flee from a suspended two-year sentence for killing a 23-year-old woman while driving drunk in Ningbo, Zhejiang province in 2004.

One of the conditions of the sentence was that he had to stay in China.

"I was afraid of going to jail, and there was no way I could develop on the mainland, so I thought I better run," Gui said.

Causeway Bay book store is behind Sogo department store

He apparently surrendered to mainland Chinese police in October last year, though he has been missing since November.

"I have to shoulder my own liability, and I'm willing to be punished," he added, while sobbing.

However, while it is confirmed by his friend that Gui was involved in a drunk driving fatal accident, it is not clear exactly which year it was. While Gui said it was 2004, state media said it was 2003, though CCTV carried reports of the crash in April 2005 when Gui was 46 at the time.

But Gui was born in 1964 so he would have been 40 when the incident happened.

Some basic fact-checking was not done properly on this report.

Nevertheless, his daughter Angela has never heard about this drunk driving case before, and questions the authenticity of his supposed confession.

Gui's friend Bei Ling, co-founder and president of the Independent Chinese Pen Center, says it is highly unlikely Gui returned to the mainland to face charges.

Gui's Pattaya apartment where four men tried to take computers

"What has happened to him is abduction conducted by a country," Bei, a dissident poet said from Boston. "the Chinese government needs to come out and offer an explanation."

He also doubts the video-taped confession, saying it looked like Gui was reading from a "scripted speech".

Bei adds some men tried to go into Gui's apartment in Pattaya, Thailand and seize his computers, but the management office refused to let them in.

Reality seems stranger than fiction here. Meanwhile people in Hong Kong continue to be gripped by this case and wonder what this all means for the rest of us...

A Tale of Two Leaders

Leung Chun-ying's speech was read out like a laundry list for two hours...

This morning our time, the President of the United States, Barack Obama gave his last State of the Union address. While he noted the differences between the Democrats and the Republicans is more divisive than ever, he also praised the country for its diversity, and how the rest of the world looks to America for leadership.

He also talked about the country's future: how to ensure equal opportunities for everyone, how to harness technological change, how to keep the country safe, and how to bridge the political divide.

...while Barack Obama talked big ideas in his speech

This is Obama's vision for the country in his last year in office, and the way he spoke instilled pride and inspiration in the audience.

Contrast this to Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's policy address this morning, his last one before the election next year.

He spoke at the Legislative Council for two hours -- even taking a 10-minute break in between --  to read out a laundry list of initiatives his administration has done or will do, from free kindergarten for some families (details to be ironed out), give HK$2 billion to startups, double the number of wifi hotspots to 34,000 in three years, make the city more accessible for the elderly, and free admission to permanent exhibitions in museums.

Whoohoo.

More interesting were the four times Leung was interrupted by lawmakers who complained the chief executive was not fulfilling election promises, how the government would destroy the environment when developing Lantau, and demanding to know where missing bookseller Lee Bo and his four associates are.

Leung's speech hardly contained any vision. While he is concerned about the growing aging population, with nearly one-third of the population will be seniors within 20 years, Leung only proposes making public areas more accessible and extra hospital beds for them.

Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan demands to know where Lee Bo is

Why not look far into the future and propose more preventive health measures, like encouraging seniors to exercise more, give them more money so they can eat better, and build more assisted living facilities.

And for kindergartens, it is only free for those who attend half day, and even then, the scheme looks to be more complicated with various conditions. As a result some families will be shut out. If 70 to 80 percent of kindergartens are supposed to be free under this scheme, why not just make all of them free of charge?

While throwing HK$2 billion to startups is generous, will that actually lead to something Hong Kong will be famous for globally? What startups have been successful here so far? Seems like a long shot bet that may not result in much except for an easy grab for startups desperate for funds. Is this the most effective way to spend our taxpayer dollars?

Perhaps the only bold initiative on Leung's part is banning the ivory trade "as quickly as possible" he said in the press conference afterwards. Again details need to be worked out, but at least the government is taking a strong stand on this issue.

Other than that, as Leung's critics have pointed out -- including Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee -- the speech only talked about piecemeal items that don't show any sign of looking at Hong Kong's long term future. There are no big ideas, only small initiatives to try to win quick points.

We don't want a government that only picks the low-hanging fruit. We want a vision of the city's future. And today was far from inspiring...

Justice Secretary Promises Investigation

Thousands came out to protest Lee Bo and his associates' disappearance

How many days has it been since bookseller Lee Bo has disappeared and finally Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung says something.

During a speech at City Hall before judges and lawyers to mark the start of the new legal year, Yuen said the public's concern about Lee and his four associates' disappearance was "understandable" and promised a thorough investigation.

"Except properly permitted under our laws, neither unauthorized criminal investigations nor unlawful arrests within the jurisdiction by anyone or any authority shall be tolerated," he said.

"Any suspected case of infringement deserves full and thorough investigation, and this is what the government is seeking to achieve," he added, saying concerns in the community were "understandable" and should be properly addressed.

Will Rimsky Yuen find the answers we are looking for?

Surely Yuen can pick up the phone and call Beijing to demand some answers? So far it's the media and public that are driving this story, not the government, which seems to have a passive reaction to what Hong Kong people think is a shocking erosion of rights in the city.

And as the Secretary for Justice, one would think Yuen should be just as concerned as us, and would be leading the charge, trying to find out answers for the rest of us?

Or perhaps he does know, but is not at liberty to say?

It's maddening how the Leung administration has a delayed response to every incident -- it's as if the senior officials are waiting for instructions from above before they decide on their own game plan.

One would think after the Occupy protests, lead in the water issue, housing, depressed salaries and so on, that the government would try to work harder to earn the public's trust.

Time is off the essence here. We need to know where Lee and his associates are. Now.

Hong Kong People fear for their Freedoms

The five people, including Lee Bo (bottom right) have disappeared so far

This afternoon around 6,000 people gathered at Hong Kong government headquarters at Tamar in Admiralty to march to the central liaison office in Western to protest against the disappearances of publisher Lee Bo and his four associates.

Many in Hong Kong now fear that anything they say or do that may anger Beijing will result in them being forcibly taken away to the mainland.

A video featuring these four talk about their fears for HK

Chanvinci is one of the producers of the local film Ten Years, that gives a bleak prediction of what the city will be like. He made a new video, interviewing a range of notable people in Hong Kong about the Lee Bo incident, including former Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fong An-sang, Scholarism founder Joshua Wong Chi-fung, barrister Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, actor Gregory Wong Chung-yiu, and singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming.

They all voice their concerns about Hong Kong's future that has supposedly run on the premise of "one country, two systems" since 1997.

The disappearances of the five people show China's disregard for the Basic Law, and Gregory Wong painted a frightening scenario reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution, where one never knows if they are safe talking to their friends or relatives, while Anthony Wong wonders if he might be next to disappear.

Chan, Lee and Ng plead for the international community to take notice and speak out on Hong Kong's behalf, otherwise the city's reputation as an international one will be tarnished forever.

The rally today protests against Lee Bo's disappearance

Many Hong Kong people wonder what kind of consular protection they will get depending on what government-issued documents they carry. It seems a Hong Kong passport or BNO don't give much protection, and one wonders if this will renew people's interest in immigrating to Canada, the United States or Australia.

Meanwhile, the Chinese side seems to be crumbling with regards to its handling of the situation.

The latest is that a pro-Beijing newspaper claims Lee Bo's wife received a video and letter in which he repeated going to the mainland was "a personal conduct". He also said he "didn't understand why it was made into such a big deal".

Lee apparently says everyone should respect his decision to go to the mainland and that it is none of anyone's business.

The paper, Headline News, didn't show any evidence of this purported video, in which Lee also allegedly says that taking part in today's protest would not be a good idea.

How contrived is this message?

Perhaps even more bizarre is how the Global Times, a nationalistic paper on the mainland has written its editorial. It claimed it was not problematic for mainland authorities to probe Causeway Bay Books because it "publishes and sells political books targeting mainland readers", and creates "special interference to the maintenance of order in the mainland".

A publisher finds a market in selling books that digs up dirt about senior Chinese officials. In this case it is possibly linked to the latest book that talks about Chinese President Xi Jinping's previous amorous relationships. If the mainland finds these books  a problem, then it should search every suitcase arriving from Hong Kong and punish those people for bringing them in.

Lee Bo is only doing what every other publisher is trying to do -- make money. And he can do it with the backing of freedom of the press in Hong Kong.

However, the Global Times article continues to say it would be "in accordance with Chinese laws" for the mainland to initiate an investigation. The editorial said it was constitutional for mainland authorities to find ways to "get around" local laws, and make one comply with their investigations "without breaching systemic bottom lines".

How is this possible, when, according to Basic Law, only Hong Kong police can investigate matters within the city. For the paper to say it was permissible for mainland authorities to go around local law is shocking and illegal.

We can continue going through the semantics, but it's very clear Beijing seems to think it can have an even tighter grip on Hong Kong and do whatever it wants with it and its people.

The longer the five do not show up, the more we wonder where they are, and fears for our own safety continue to magnify.

Seems like we're already getting a taste of what life in Hong Kong will be like after June 30, 2046...

Mystery of Bookseller's Disappearance Deepens

Lee and four other associates are still missing and no credible news available

The mystery of bookseller Lee Bo's disappearance along with four others associated with either Causeway Bay Books or Mighty Current publishing company continues, and the outlandish information so far just continues to not only illustrate how inaccurate people can be, but also no one has any correct answers.

The latest rumour was from pro-Beijing lawmaker Ng Leung-sing, who represents the finance sector.

He had the gall to tell the media that Lee went to the mainland to visit prostitutes -- without checking if this rumour was correct or not -- or with any evidence to prove this point. Ng later apologized to Lee's wife Sophie Choi Ka-ping, but she refused it. She could sue him for libel. Or Lee himself could -- if he resurfaces.

But think about it -- as Civic Party's Claudia Mo Man-ching says: why would someone smuggle themselves to the mainland to have some fun? And why would he go anyway when he thought he would be safer in Hong Kong?

Lee's wife (right) believes the letter is written by her husband

The longer Lee and his associates do not show themselves, the greater Hong Kong people's fears are about the erosion of "one country, two systems" and their personal freedoms.

Another strange twist was that Choi had filed a missing person's report on her husband with the police, but withdrew it the other day when she received a handwritten letter believed to be in Lee's handwriting.

In the letter that was published by Central New Agency, Lee claimed he went to the mainland "in his own way" and was assisting in an investigation that "may take a while".

Why would he go to the mainland "in his own way" when he left his return home permit at home?

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying finally expressed concern about the case, stating investigators would continue looking into the case even though Choi had withdrawn her missing person's request.

He said it was unacceptable and unconstitutional for mainland agencies to enforce the law in Hong Kong.

Philip Hammond asks WangYi about Lee's case in Beijing

Meanwhile British foreign secretary Philip Hammond brought up Lee Bo's case while visiting Beijing, saying it was not acceptable for "someone to be spirited out of Hong Kong" to face charges elsewhere.

But Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Lee "is first and foremost a Chinese citizen", and warned against "groundless speculation".

If Wang wants to end rumours, why not tell us where Lee is then? The bookseller may be ethnically Chinese, but he is first and foremost a Hong Kong citizen. Perhaps in 2046 he will be a Chinese citizen.

The five may be in trouble regarding an upcoming book that allegedly details the Chinese President's previous relationships.

And it was because Hong Kong has such fundamental rights as freedom of speech and media that people can express their own opinions about whatever they want, including being critical of the Chinese government.

However, this case is proving more and more this [being critical of Beijing] is not acceptable, and is already seemingly treating the city like any other mainland metropolis.

As a result, if the allegations are true that Lee and his associates were kidnapped across the border against their will, Hong Kong people are going to be even more terrified of the Communist government they were trying to flee before 1997.

This is the worst kind of public relations Beijing should want in the city, and the Chinese trying to flex its muscles because it was not impressed with what happened last year with the Occupy protests is not going to make things better.

Also worth noting is Leung's response -- a bit late, but interesting for him to stop short of condemning what may have possibly happened to Lee and his associates. Leung is the CE of Hong Kong. Surely he has enough clout to call Beijing and ask what's really going on.

This is why we need someone to represent the interests of Hong Kong and stand up to Beijing.

But in reality this is not what is happening and we can only hope Lee and his associates will eventually show up. We really need to know what happened to them, the sooner the better.