Hong Kong Media Overseas (HKMO) expresses its grave concern over the Hong Kong National Security Department’s search of two independent bookstores, Garden Books and Linger Bookstore, and the arrest of five individuals, including former journalists and bookstore staff, on allegations related to the display and sale of publications deemed to have “seditious intent.”
While the authorities have stated that the case concerns publications allegedly in breach of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the arrests of former journalists and booksellers over books available to the public have raised serious concerns about the continued erosion of press freedom, publication freedom, and freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
Freedom of the press, freedom of publication, and freedom of expression are fundamental rights protected under the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which continues to apply to Hong Kong. Journalists, authors, publishers, booksellers, and members of the public should be able to investigate, publish, distribute, and access information without fear of intimidation or undue legal pressure.
HKMO is particularly concerned that this is not an isolated incident. Over recent months, several independent bookstores have been subjected to police action under national security legislation. The latest arrests, involving former journalists, risk creating an even deeper chilling effect on Hong Kong’s media and publishing sectors, encouraging self-censorship and further narrowing the city’s already shrinking space for public discourse.
HKMO calls upon the Hong Kong Government to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Basic Law and the ICCPR, and to ensure that journalists, publishers, booksellers, and media workers are able to carry out their professional responsibilities free from intimidation or undue interference.