Lai expresses solidarity with arrested HK booksellers

Staff writer, with CNA, AP and Reuters, HONG KONG Add TT as Preferred Source President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed solidarity with independent bookstore owners and urged Hong Kong to respect diverse views after authorities in the territory on Wednesday raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications. Videos and photos from local media showed officers wearing vests marked with “Police” seizing boxes from the building housing Have A Nice Stay, a bookshop in the territory’s Mong Kok area founded by former journalists. A bookseller was seen being taken away. A few streets away a similar scene played out, with boxes taken from the building housing Greenfield Book Store, according to a video by online news outlet The Collective. A