Long queues mark final day as Hong Kong bookstore closes after raid
An independent Hong Kong bookstore has shut its doors six weeks after a national security police raid, drawing long queues of customers on its final day following four years in business. Readers wound down the dim staircase of a Prince Edward tenement building on Sunday afternoon, with some waiting up to 45 minutes to enter the third-floor bookstore, Have a Nice Stay. The closure followed a…
An independent Hong Kong bookstore, Have a Nice Stay, has closed its doors after six weeks following a national security police raid, drawing long queues of customers on its final day. The shop, located on the third floor of a tenement building in Prince Edward, welcomed readers who waited up to 45 minutes to enter the premises.
The closure followed a mid-July raid by police, which detained five people, including staff and co-founder Sum Wan-wah, on allegations of acts with seditious intent. The bookstore, founded in 2022 by five former journalists, aimed to promote journalism and provide a gathering place for those remaining in Hong Kong amid a mass exodus during the Covid pandemic.
Despite remaining open briefly from Wednesday to Sunday to clear its remaining stock and bid farewell to readers, the shop struggled financially over the past six months, citing economic conditions, uncertainty over its building, and personal circumstances of team members as reasons for its closure. While some customers expressed disappointment, others highlighted the importance of independent bookstores in the city.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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