Customers Wait 45 Minutes to Buy Final Book as Crackdown Forces More Independent Bookstores in Hong Kong to Close

Independent Bookstores in Hong Kong Shutter Due to National Security Law Crackdown

Authorities Target Four Bookstores in March, June, and July; Owners and Employees Arrested

Book Fair Participation Blocked... Channels for “Banned Books” Disappear

Since the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Law, increased government crackdowns have led to the successive closure of independent bookstores across Hong Kong.

Last July, after the owners of the Hong Kong bookstore 'Have a Nice Stay' were arrested by authorities on charges of selling provocative publications, a visitor is seen looking at the closed bookstore. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

On August 31 (local time), Yonhap News Agency, citing AP and other sources, reported that “Have a Nice Stay,” an independent bookstore in Hong Kong founded by former journalists, closed down after finishing its last day of business on August 30. On the final day, a long line formed on the stairs leading up to the store, which was located on the third floor of an aging building in Prince Edward, Kowloon Peninsula. With the shop’s floor space just over 60 square meters and only 20 people allowed inside at once, some customers had to wait as long as 45 minutes before entering.

The bookstore was founded by journalists formerly with “Stand News,” a media outlet that was shut down in 2022. It mainly carried books in the fields of media and social sciences. When announcing its closure last month, the store cited poor business performance, financial pressure, rental issues, and the social environment in Hong Kong as the reasons for shutting down. The management expressed, “Recent events may look like the final straw, but the camel had already been carrying too heavy a burden.”

The absence of clear guidelines on which books would be considered problematic by authorities was also cited as a major reason for going out of business. The store stated, “We no longer have the ability, or perhaps even the courage, to carry on our mission of sharing knowledge from diverse perspectives through books.”

People holding books crowding on the last day of the Hong Kong independent bookstore "Have a Nice Stay." Nonprofit independent media Hong Kong Free Press

Independent bookstores in Hong Kong have handled books not stocked by major bookstore chains. Their selections often focused on publications discussing politically sensitive issues in Mainland China, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. They also served as community gathering spaces, hosting events and lectures on social issues, and acted as a conduit for mainland Chinese readers seeking so-called “banned books.”

This year alone, authorities have targeted several independent bookstores—such as “Book Punch” in March, “Hunter Bookstore” in June, and both “Have a Nice Stay” and “Greenfield Bookstore” in July—on charges including the sale of inciting publications. Owners and staff have been arrested in succession. At the Hong Kong Book Fair, small bookstores were pushed out. In early July, “Elm Book” and “Luck Win Bookstore” were barred from participating, and the state-owned newspaper Wen Wei Po criticized them for selling books that allegedly promote Hong Kong independence. As a result, “Elm Book,” which first opened in 1997, announced it would close its offline shop.

Meanwhile, a symbolic figure in the city’s independent bookstore community passed away recently. Lam Wing-kee, who was imprisoned for allegedly selling books banned by the Chinese government and subsequently released, fled to Taiwan and died there in July, never able to return to Hong Kong. He had opened “Causeway Bay Books” in Hong Kong in 1994, but was detained by Chinese authorities for about eight months in 2015, before seeking asylum in Taiwan in 2019. The following year, he opened a bookstore in Taipei, but just before its opening he was attacked by three assailants who threw red paint at him.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.