These bookshops let Chinese readers question their country - now the doors are closing
For some mainlanders, Hong Kong's independent bookstores are a window into a different, freer world.
Every month, Chen Zhu travels from mainland China to Hong Kong to visit Hunter Bookstore. The independent bookshop, founded in 2019 by a former councillor, is known for stocking sensitive titles ranging from Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists' accounts to works like George Orwell's Animal Farm and Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan.
Located in the Sham Shui Po district, Hunter serves as a gateway to a freer world for Zhu, allowing her to explore taboo topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The bookshop's popularity surged after the 2019 pro-democracy protests, but growing Chinese control over Hong Kong has made survival increasingly challenging.
In June, police raided Hunter, arresting owner Letitia Wong and a 32-year-old man for alleged sedition and money laundering, though they have since been released on bail. Similar raids followed at other independent bookshops, Greenfield Bookstore and Have a Nice Stay, leading to their closures. Chen Zhu, along with other mainland Chinese readers, visits these shops in Hong Kong to access forbidden knowledge and find a sense of community.
However, with the closure of prominent bookshops, she fears that this spirit of freedom and open dialogue is being eroded in Hong Kong as well.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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