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Hong Kong's security chief stated on Thursday that booksellers are obligated to guarantee that their merchandise does not compromise national security, following the arrest of five individuals by authorities over material deemed 'seditious.'
National security police searched two bookshops on July 15 and arrested five people under suspicion of displaying and selling "items with seditious intent", the latest in a string of crackdowns on independent bookshops.
Reporters saw officers lead a woman in handcuffs to a van and taking away several boxes from Have a Nice Stay, a bookshop run by former journalists.
The city's security chief Chris Tang told reporters on Thursday: "If you are a bookseller, you have a responsibility to ensure that the books you sell do not endanger national security."
"I believe booksellers bear this responsibility," he said, comparing it to food vendors being required to ensure the goods they sell do not "contain poison or breach the law".
Authorities have cracked down on bookshops over alleged "seditious" material under Hong Kong's homegrown national security law, passed in 2024 in addition to broader legislation imposed by Beijing after democracy protests seized the financial hub in 2019.
Tang did not provide details on which publications breached the rules, but said books that incite hatred against authorities would be considered unlawful. "The law is very clear. If you break the law, you have crossed the red line," he said.
Tang reiterated that officials would not compile a list of banned books, saying authorities would focus on the content of the books rather than the titles.
A day before the police raid, Have a Nice Stay shop said it would close in August, citing "the elusive red line" as a factor, in a reference to blurry rules on what books are considered illegal.
"Our capacity is limited. We cannot possibly review every book, let alone judge which ones are 'problematic,'" the shop said in a statement. "For us, books are a space for knowledge and ideas, and this space ought to be boundless."
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