Hong Kong Booksellers Arrested Over Seditious Publications, Jimmy Lai Biography Seized
Hong Kong national security police have arrested four individuals from one of the city's last independent bookstores for allegedly selling seditious publications, with a biography of jailed billionaire publisher Jimmy Lai among the seized materials. The incident has ignited fresh concerns over the erosion of freedom of speech in the territory.
Arrests and Seizures at Book Punch
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, police arrested Book Punch owner Pong Yat-ming and three female staff members in the Sham Shui Po district. Local media outlets, including Ming Pao News, the South China Morning Post, and TVB, reported that the arrests were made on charges of "knowingly selling seditious publications," an offense that carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
During a search of the bookstore, authorities confiscated several books, notably a biography of Jimmy Lai titled The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became A Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident and China's Most Feared Critic. The biography was authored by Mark Clifford, a friend of Lai and former non-executive director of Next Digital, the media company Lai founded.
Background on Jimmy Lai and the National Security Law
Jimmy Lai, a 78-year-old British media tycoon, was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong. His convictions included sedition, conspiring with foreign forces, and conspiring to publish seditious material under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. This law was enacted following widespread protests in 2019 over proposals to allow extraditions to mainland China.
Lai's now-defunct newspaper, Apple Daily, was among the few local publications to initially cover the 2015 disappearance of five booksellers from Causeway Bay Books, a store known for selling political books banned in mainland China. Those booksellers were widely believed to have been detained in mainland China, with Guangdong authorities later confirming their custody over an "old traffic case." Their disappearance shocked Hong Kong and drew international criticism, including from then-British foreign secretary Philip Hammond, who called it a "serious breach" of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Author's Response and Broader Implications
Mark Clifford, the author of Lai's biography, condemned the arrests as a "cruel irony," noting that selling a book about a man imprisoned for his journalistic activities and advocacy of free expression now leads to sedition charges. He stated, "It shows how far Hong Kong has fallen from its tradition of free expression and free speech that providing a book could be considered a national security offense."
Clifford, who also serves as president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong foundation, argued that threats against bookstores are "not an aberration but part of a continuing crackdown" on dissent. He emphasized that this represents a breach of China's promise to maintain Hong Kongers' freedoms after the 1997 handover from the UK.
Police Statement and Ongoing Concerns
A police spokesperson, when questioned about the arrests, did not comment directly but told Reuters in a statement that authorities "will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law." This response echoes previous statements made to local media.
The incident has reignited debates over freedom of speech and expression in Hong Kong, with many viewing it as part of a broader pattern of suppression under the national security law. The arrests highlight the precarious state of independent media and bookstores in the city, raising alarms about the future of civil liberties in the region.
