These bookshops let Chinese readers question their country - now the doors are closing
BBC News · C · trust 32/100
When Chen Zhu heads to Hong Kong from mainland China every month, there's one place she always goes: Hunter Bookstore.
Founded four years ago by a former councillor, the independent bookshop has earned a reputation for stocking what authorities would consider sensitive books - accounts of Hong Kong's pro-democracy campaigners to famous allegories on authoritarianism, such as George Orwell's Animal Farm or Hajime Isayama's Manga series Attack on Titan.
It's a short journey from Zhu's home in Guangzhou on China's southern coast to the crowded street in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po district, where Hunter is sandwiched between fabric sellers, garages and trendy cafes.
But, for the 23-year-old, it is also a passage into a different, freer world - where she can find answers to forbidden questions.
When she learned the bookshop had been raided by police in late June, Zhu broke into tears: "I was devastated."
Hong Kong saw a boom in independent bookshops after huge pro-democracy protests rocked the city in 2019. But it has been increasingly difficult for them to survive as China's control over the city has grown.
While Beijing defends its far-reaching National Security Law (NSL) as essential for stability, many Hong Kongers and rights groups argue it has crushed free speech. Thousands of locals, including activists and former lawmakers, have left in recent years, as tough new security laws have led to a slew of arrests and convictions.
When police searched Hunter Bookstore on 24 June, they accused owner Letitia Wong, 33, and a 32-year-old man, of violating those laws and arrested them for sedition and money laundering. They deny the charges and have since been released on bail.
In March, they arrested the owner of Book Punch, along with three employees on the same charges, and reportedly seized copies of a biography on Jimmy Lai, the jailed democracy campaigner.
On 15 July, when the annual Hong Kong Book Fair opened, national security police searched two more independent bookshops, Greenfield Bookstore and Have a Nice Stay, arresting five people for sedition. They, too, have been released on bail.
At the end of the month Greenfield posted on social media, saying: "Our store will be closing after our lease expires. Thank you for walking with us, through wind and rain, for 50 years since our opening." It was the third independent bookshop to shut within a month.
These bookshops have long had a loyal following not just in Hong Kong, but also among many mainland Chinese readers. Some like Zhu travel to the city in search of a single book.
For 19-year-old Li from Shanghai, who didn't give her first name, these are places where she "can see so many possibilities, and where existing ideas can be challenged". Others treasure them as spaces that offer a sense of freedom and community they feel is missing on the mainland.
Now they fear China is eroding that spirit in Hong Kong too.
When Zhu began university in 2021, she became increasingly curious about lesser-discussed chapters of Chinese history - such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, a taboo topic that has been scrubbed off the country's tightly controlled internet.
The massive student-led protests ended in a bloody army crackdown whose toll is still contested. Beijing said at the time that 200 civilians died, but according to de-classified UK diplomatic cables, at least 10,000 people were killed.
Zhu sought out films which touch on the era-defining event, but neither epic romance Summer Palace nor the secretly filmed gay drama Lan Yu could satisfy her curiosity.
She became set on tracking down The Unburned Book by Taiwanese poet Yang Du, a bittersweet reflection on protesters who later went into exile.
In 2023, as soon as the China-Hong Kong border reopened after the pandemic she made her way to Hong Kong to find it.
This was when the city's independent bookshops were taking off. People were sharing walking routes online, complete with neighbourhood guides and curated recommendations.
In bustling Mong Kok there was Luck Win, known for its generous discounts, and Greenfield, with its packed floor-to-ceiling shelves. A short walk away were the cosy Have a Nice Stay, founded by former journalists, which held popular late-night reading sessions, and Elmbook, whose cramped but beloved shelves made regulars feel like they were on a treasure hunt.
Then there was Book Punch on trendy Tai Nan Street, with a collection as defiant as its motto, "one punch to wake the reader", and the food lovers' favourite, Word by Word in historic Wan Chai, and, of course, Hunter, with a sofa outside where passers-by can take a break.
That's where Zhu found The Unburned Book. She had tried - and failed - in other stores, so she was surprised when she finally spotted it.
Hong Kong, once a refuge for those fleeing China post 1989, commemorated the killings every year with a vigil. They gradually disappeared as the new laws targeted political gatherings.
Still, when Chris, 20, whose name we have changed, travelled to Hong Kong in early June, he found that one bookstore was displaying relevant books, white candles and rolls of masking tape printed with the Roman numerals "VI-IV" - 6-4, a coded way of representing the 4 June anniversary.
These young people may not be from Hong Kong, but they describe feeling a deep sense of belonging in these bookshops: politically vibrant spaces that engage with the history their governments would rather they forget.
But it's more than just about the books.
Li visited Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year earlier this year, months after a massive apartment blaze in the north-eastern Tai Po district claimed 168 lives.
At Hunter Bookstore, she discovered a wall covered in black sticky notes, where visitors had left messages of encouragement for those affected by the tragedy.
Li says this sense of community is difficult to find in mainland China. She says while they have message boards there too, they wouldn't be focused…
Read the original at BBC News →
Open in TruthVane →