Hong Kong Police Arrest 5 at Bookstore Over Taiwanese Book; Taiwan Official Urges Purchase

Hong Kong police arrested five individuals at an independent bookstore, founded by former media professionals, on charges of displaying and selling items deemed "seditious." The authorities specifically cited a Taiwanese publication, "The Blossoming of Red Flowers: Identity and Belonging in the Xi Jinping Era," as containing seditious content.

The raid occurred on the opening day of the Hong Kong book fair, with police also targeting "The Commercial Press" and "Chung Hwa Book Company" independent bookstores. This action has drawn significant international attention amid concerns over the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong since the implementation of the National Security Law.

“

The situation in Hong Kong is not familiar to many Taiwanese people. Taiwan has many companies and banks with branches in Hong Kong, and we have issued reminders before. As for ordinary citizens, everyone should pay more attention to news from Hong Kong, because the Hong Kong of today is indeed not the Hong Kong of the past.

In response, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson, Liang Wen-chieh, described "The Blossoming of Red Flowers" as a compelling read and encouraged the public to purchase and examine it. He stated the book explores how various individuals in mainland China, including lawyers, entrepreneurs, and Hong Kong residents, face exclusion or suppression under Xi Jinping's singular ideology.

Liang Wen-chieh also addressed concerns about potential cross-border suppression of Taiwanese publishers. He noted that Taiwanese publishers participating in the Hong Kong book fair exercise caution and self-censor their offerings. While Hong Kong authorities do not maintain a public list of banned books, they conduct on-site inspections, demanding the removal of problematic titles. Liang acknowledged that despite these precautions, occasional "minor incidents" might occur where publishers believe a book is innocuous, but Hong Kong authorities deem it highly problematic. Taiwan is closely monitoring the situation.

“

This book, 'The Blossoming of Red Flowers: Identity and Belonging in the Xi Jinping Era,' is a very good read. I really suggest everyone go buy and read it.