Lam Wing-kee, a former Hong Kong bookseller "who became a symbol of resistance to Beijing's crackdown on speech freedom after he was seized by Chinese authorities in late 2015," died July 2, the AP reported. He was 70. He had previously worked at Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, but moved to Taipei, Taiwan, in 2019 and reopened the bookstore in 2020.
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| Lam Wing-kee at Causeway Bay Books in Taiwan in 2020 (Hong Kong Democracy Council/X) |
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In a Facebook post, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te wrote: "The passing of Mr Lam Wing-kee is deeply saddening, but the courage he left behind would not fade. Taiwan will remember that a Hong Kong bookstore worker once told us in the most ordinary yet most steadfast way how precious freedom is and reminded us that democracy requires the efforts of generation after generation to defend it."
Lam was one of five people affiliated with Causeway Books who disappeared in late 2015. His colleague, publisher Gui Minhai, "went missing from his holiday home in Thailand. He was sentenced in 2020 to 10 years in prison in China on a charge of illegally providing intelligence overseas. In an act of defiance, Lam gave an explosive account of his experience in 2016 that contradicted official Chinese accounts of what happened to the five booksellers," the AP noted. The Hong Kong bookstore closed in 2016.
After being seized by Chinese authorities in October 2015 when he crossed the border to Shenzhen, he was blindfolded for a 13-hour train ride to the eastern city of Ningbo, where he was kept under 24-hour surveillance in a room for five months. He said he was later forced to appear on Chinese television to confess to crimes.
In an interview with Central News Agency last month, Lam said he temporarily closed the bookstore due to health concerns, adding: "If my health improves, I'll reopen it. If not, I won't."
Taiwan's Minister of Culture Li Yuan recalled that he had visited Lam Wing-kee at Causeway Bay Books as recently as April, hoping to work with him on a plan to connect independent bookstores. Li said the reopening of Causeway Bay Books in Taiwan held deep significance for people there, especially in the wake of the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests. He added that the bookstore had become a gathering place for Hong Kongers in Taiwan.
The Ministry of Culture also said Lam "played a key role in promoting dialogue and cultural exchange between Taiwan and Hong Kong, and served as an inspiration and role model for democracy, liberty, and human rights across borders."