Beijing's Scare Tactics

Lee Po seems to praise the mainland whenever the media ask questions

We're all still shaking our heads over how the missing bookseller incident came about and how it ended is still a mystery.

Whenever Lee Po was accosted by local media, he would say such pro-China statements -- coming from someone who used to publish books criticizing the Communist Party -- that they were too bizarre to accept.

In the latest twist to the story, a publisher who knows Lee Po, has come out to say that mainland agents had visited him three decades ago when he went back into the publishing business.

Publisher Lau Tat-man says mainland agents visit regularly

And during the height of the missing booksellers incident, the same agents visited Lau Tat-man three times in the span of a month.

He claimed they were from the Guangdong State Security Department and were investigating his connection with Causeway Bay Books.

"They told me the public security department was very angry about the banned books business and that I could be the mastermind behind the five booksellers in question and take advantage of their downfall to expand my business," Lau said.

Lau says he's speaking out now because his wife has been detained by Dongguan authorities since October 24 -- the same day and place one of the booksellers, Cheung Ping-chi, went missing. Lau hasn't heard from her since, nor have the mainland agents given him any updates about her.

The connection between him and Causeway Bay Books is interesting. Gui Minhai, who allegedly returned to the mainland to stand for charges of drunk driving many years ago, used to write for Lau on a freelance basis.

Gui and Lee also poached Lau's distribution staff, Lui Por and Cheung.

Mainland agents asked Lau about Causeway Bay Books

"I told the agents, they [Lui and Cheung] took all my business contacts and distribution data when they joined Gui and Lee. How can you accuse me of being behind their business?" he said.

The mainland agents contacted Lau again in mid-January, saying the Causeway Bay Books sellers had revealed information against Lau, and that he had expanded his banned books business (because Causeway Bay Books was not in operation).

"I told them, 'why don't you kidnap me to the mainland to sort things out?'," he recalled, adding that he'd been banned from getting a wui heung jing or return home permit to go there.

Hopefully media pressure will help Lau be reunited with his wife. But what did he do to have mainland agents visit him regularly, and detain his wife up from late October until now?

These stories just confirm Hong Kong people's fears about the mainland, making them even more concerned and worried about their future in the city, while getting no reassurances from the local government nor Beijing.

Is it not surprising then that the film Ten Years won best picture at last week's Hong Kong Film Awards, that there are more localist groups running for seats in the upcoming Legislative Council, that people get sensitive when simplified Chinese is used in the city?

What is Beijing's strategy to win the hearts and minds of Hong Kong people? Scaring them is hardly effective...

Missing Bookseller Saga a Page Turner

Why did Lee Po sign over the running of the bookstore to a mystery man?

We can't even keep up with what's been happening with the missing bookseller saga -- it just keeps going in such bizarre directions that even the most creative spy thriller novelist couldn't make this up.

The latest? The two booksellers who came back to Hong Kong earlier this week? They literally came back for a few hours and then went straight back across the border again.

Lui Por came back last Friday, and Cheung Chi-ping on Sunday, both telling local authorities they didn't need any help from the Hong Kong government or the police and then returned to the mainland, according to dissident poet Bei Ling, who is a friend of Lee Po and trying to do his own investigation.

Two booksellers returned to HK then went back to Shenzhen

"Their return to Hong Kong was only to tell police to drop the case on them, nothing else," Bei said. "They returned to Shenzhen in a hurry probably because that's where they have to be on bail. Besides, that's where their families are."

And then we find out Lee Po had signed over the running of Causeway Bay Books for six months to a mysterious man named Chan.

In the agreement signed in November, Chan would cover the operating costs and pay the HK$39,000 monthly rent. Lee signed it because he needed someone to cover the costs because the bookstore was losing HK$20,000 a month.

But according to Woo Chih-wai, one of the last employees to work at the bookstore until all five booksellers disappeared, Chan didn't seem to want to keep the business and wanted to shut it down.

Woo Chih-wai is concerned about the booksellers and the store

Woo found it troubling that Lee's wife Sophie gave Chan the keys to the Chai Wan warehouse even though the property was hers, and she was willing to give up the bookstore and warehouse just to get her husband back.

Chan didn't seem to care much for the business, according to Woo, who said he didn't stay long in the store, and had a young woman run it, who didn't seem to care much for the books either.

Woo said on the day Lee went missing, the three of them were supposed to have dinner, but Chan didn't show any concern, but the following day said the store would not operate much longer.

The mystery continues to baffle us, mostly because we can't even predict what's going to happen. We want the saga to end, though the effects will reverberate Hong Kong for a long, long time.

Evidence of Contradictions

Lee emailed Gui's daughter to tell her what may have happened to him

The big story today was the revelation in an email that bookseller Lee Po feared that his colleague Gui Minhai had been abducted by mainland agents, only to deny this later.

In an email dated November 10, Lee wrote to Gui's daughter Angela about her father Michael's disappearance.

Subject: Michael is missing

Hi Angela,

I am Paul Lee [Po], Michael's business partner, who had lunch with you and Michael last year in Hong Kong.

In the email Lee sounded concerned for Gui Minhai's fate

I write to you concerning the whereabouts of Michael. I wonder if you have known that he has been missing for more than 20 days, we fear that he was taken by special agents from China for political reasons.

We last talked to Michael by email on 15 October, and after that day, nobody could contact him. He was then staying in his apartment in Thailand. According to [Gui's wife]'s words told by the watchman of the building, he left the apartment with several men who claimed to be his friends.

Since we feel [Gui's wife] is hesitating and is not doing anything at the moment, and it's very little we can do to help him because we are not his next of kin. I then think of you, perhaps you can do something, and there are a lot of Michael's friends [who] are ready to help if you need them.

Do tell me what you think and what you want us to do.

Best,

Paul Lee

The email contradicts what Lee has said to Hong Kong authorities and on state television. He wrote a letter to his wife Sophie Choi Ka-ping, blaming Gui for his predicament and describing him as a "morally unacceptable person" who had a "complicated personal history".

Up until now, the Hong Kong government has maintained there was no evidence of cross-border law enforcement being undertaken over the disappearance. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has said such acts of law enforcement by mainland authorities in Hong Kong would be unacceptable as it would go against the Basic Law that protects the city's freedoms.

Meanwhile Lee's wife ordered the destruction of some 45,000 books that were critical of the Communist Party of China, in the hopes it would hasten the release of Po. But it seems like nothing has happened.

The publication of this email affirms the public's skepticism of what Lee said after his abduction to the mainland.

However, this may make it even harder for the remaining booksellers to come back. It's a sad prospect, but at least we know Lee knew what he was getting himself into, and seems like he too was scared.

One Freed, Four to Go

CW left: Lee Po, Gui Minhai, Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee

The plight of the missing booksellers continues to raise eyebrows with breaking news tonight that one of them has returned to Hong Kong.

Lui Por is the general manager of Mighty Current, the publishing house that specializes in books critical of the Communist Party of China.

He returned today through Lo Wu immigration check point and local authorities were alerted, who then waited for him at his Tai Wai home.

In a statement released by the force, the police "met with Lui Por who returned to Hong Kong from the mainland this morning. Lui Por requested police cancel his missing person case and stated that he did not require any assistance from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government or Police. He refused to disclose other details".

Lui Por as he appeared on state television on Monday

Lui hadn't been seen since October until Monday when he and his three colleagues appeared on state television to say Gui Minhai ordered Lui and his two other associates to deliver some 4,000 books across the border since October 2014.

They would cover the books with a romance novel cover and then wrap the books in black nylon to avoid screening detection.

One wonders what kind of psychological state Lui is in and will he even seek help to deal with his ordeal of " being disappeared" for about five months.

Our next question is when the other three, including Lee Po are released and how they will be released.

Experts believe Gui could be jailed for running an illegal business in China, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. But if he is convicted of other crimes, he could be jailed for much longer.

It is frightening how people are silenced by intimidation, and it seems Lui has been told to keep quiet for his own good. While we are relieved he is back, we may never know more about his time being detained, and how he dealt with being disappeared by Chinese authorities for so long.

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...

David Tang Vocalizes his Discontent

Sir David Tang voiced his discontent of the Leung administration at the FCC

Sir David Tang has been busy designing high-end restaurants and luxury products for his store Tang Tang Tang Tang, but he's also found time to criticize Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his administration for not representing the interests of the Hong Kong people.

At the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Tang gave a rare but fiery speech stating how the city is in a sad state of affairs, from how the Umbrella Movement was handled, to the stalemate in the Legislative Council.

While he was sympathetic with the students and members of the public who protested in the fall of 2014, Tang said the government made a series of missteps, most crucially that Leung did not meet with the students.

Tang says even Li Peng met with Wu'er Kaixi in 1989

"Throughout the 'Umbrella Movement' our chief executive steadfastly refused to meet the protesters. We should remember that even Li Peng -- even Li Peng, the hardcore, hardline Chinese premier at the time -- received Wu'er Kaixi, and, what's more, in full view of national television."

That is definitely a stinging indictment of Leung, though funny Tang should point this out almost a year and a half later...

The businessman loves to use big words to show off his expansive vocabulary which is amusing to hear in his strong British accent. Perhaps the best quote was of him describing Leung a leader who was not strong enough and turn himself into "a puppet on a string dancing obsequiously to the tunes and echoes of Zhongnanhai".

Touche.

In the beginning of his speech, Tang complained about Leung's 2016 policy address on how idealistic it was.

"Whoever wrote that for the chief executive... must be a comedian or perhaps a monkey who accidentally typed up those words on a typewriter," he said.

Tang described Leung as a "puppet" dancing to Zhongnanhai

The policy address -- which Tang forced himself to read twice -- mentions "One Belt, One Road" 50 times.

"Quite apart from the embarrassing unctuousness towards the Chinese president, what on earth would an ordinary resident of Hong Kong care or understand about 'One Belt, One Road'?"

He questioned whether any Hong Kong tycoon would be able to name even two countries in the supposed silk road.

As for bookseller Lee Po, Tang said it was quite sure that someone high up had arranged for Lee to be moved onto the mainland, and that it was not a good sign for people to be disappearing.

Tang claimed of knowing at least two businessmen who refused to go to the mainland to assist in criminal investigations, insisting the authorities come to Hong Kong instead to question them.

But did Lee have a choice in the matter? We have yet to find out.

Nevertheless, it was very refreshing to have Tang speak out what we have all been thinking, despite him sounding pompous at times.

It is evident through his speech that the entrepreneur and restaurateur cares deeply about Hong Kong and hopes things will get better through reconciliation and talks.

Now if only people will heed his advice...

Or should we start campaigning for Tang for CE?

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.