Hong Kong Police Arrest Five and Seize Books from Two Bookstores over Alleged Seditious Publications

Hong Kong police raided two bookstores in the Mong Kok district on July 15 and arrested five people on suspicion of breaching the 2024 national security law. The five individuals, two men and three women, were suspected of displaying seditious materials and selling seditious publications, police said in a statement.

The publications are alleged to include content stirring up hatred against the city’s government, judiciary and law enforcement agencies.

Customs officials referred the case after discovering the books in a batch of goods shipped to Hong Kong from overseas. Officers seized boxes from the buildings housing Have A Nice Stay and Greenfield Book Store. Have A Nice Stay, founded by former journalists and located in Prince Edward district, had announced it would shut down in August 2026.

In a social media post the store cited financial difficulties and an elusive red line among the factors. This marks the third round of arrests linked to independent bookstores, following similar operations in March and June. Lam Wing-kee, owner of Causeway Bay Books, died earlier in July 2026.

He had revealed in 2016 that he was held by Chinese authorities after crossing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and four others affiliated with the store disappeared in late 2015. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 after being a British colony. Beijing promised the city would maintain its Western-style civil liberties for 50 years after the handover.

Anti-government protests occurred in 2019, after which independent bookstores have operated in a more challenging environment. Authorities say the national security laws are crucial for the city’s stability.