A woman walks past a book featuring a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and former Politburo member and Chongqing city party leader Bo Xilai on the cover, at the entrance of the closed Causeway Bay Bookstore
The United Kingdom has extended its concerns over the case of the disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers, after it emerged that one of the missing could be a British passport holder.
According to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the British embassy in Beijing said that it was aware that Lee Bo, the bookseller who vanished last week, could be a holder of a British passport.
“We are deeply concerned by reports about the disappearance and detention of individuals associated with the Causeway Bay Books bookstore in Hong Kong,” a statement read. “We are monitoring all the cases closely.”
“We encourage the Hong Kong SAR Government to honor its commitment to protecting the freedom of the press, and we hope the Chinese authorities will continue to make every effort to ensure that the environment in which the media and publishers operate in the Hong Kong SAR supports full and frank reporting.”
Lee Bo was the individual who first attracted media attention in October, after four of his colleagues at the Causeway Bay Bookstore and its publishing house went missing.
However, Britain is not the only European country that has expressed alarm at the recent disappearances.
The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has previously said that its embassies in Bangkok and Beijing are investigating allegations that Swedish national, Gui Minhai, had been detained in Thailand or China.
Gui, who owns the publishing house “Mighty Current,” has not been seen or heard from since he disappeared while on holiday in Thailand in October.
During a press conference held this week, the local activist and New Macau Association member Jason Chao argued that the mainland authorities “can kidnap someone in Hong Kong or Macau and take them back to the mainland for interrogation or torture.” Staff reporter
lee bo’s wife drops police report
The mystery surrounding five missing Hong Kong booksellers known for titles banned in mainland China deepened after one purportedly wrote a letter saying he was fine and helping with an investigation on the mainland, prompting his wife to drop a missing person’s report. Hong Kong police said late Monday that Lee Bo’s wife canceled the report, but that they would continue investigating the other cases. They didn’t say whether Lee had been located.
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