Hong Kong police arrest five over 'seditious' books

Hong Kong's national security police arrested five booksellers on suspected charges of "doing an act with seditious intention", the government said in a statement late on Wednesday.



The city's once-flourishing independent bookstore industry has dwindled since Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on the city in 2020. Many of these stores, which offered a broader range of political and social titles than those found in mainstream shops, had become vital outlets for Hong Kong's civil society by hosting book talks and workshops.



Police said they received a referral from Hong Kong's customs department stating that a "batch of books with seditious intention was intercepted inside a consignment shipped to Hong Kong from overseas."



Officers searched two shops in Mong Kok, located in the city's bustling Kowloon district, and arrested two men, aged 37 and 57, and three women, aged 30 to 59, the statement said.



"Police investigations revealed that the five arrestees are suspected of displaying items with seditious intent and selling publications with seditious content inside the shops," the statement noted.