Lam Wing Kee, one of five men associated with a publishing company to go missing, returned to Hong Kong on Tuesday. In a press conference on Thursday, he reported that he had been abducted from Shenzhen by government agents last October and detained for eight months. Mr Lam says he was subjected to abuse and held in a small cell. He said he was speaking out as he had ‘less to lose’ than his colleagues.

 

From the Wall Street Journal –

Hong Kong Bookseller Describes His Abduction, Detention in Mainland China

In a televised news conference, Lam Wing Kee—who is affiliated with a Hong Kong seller of books that are banned in the mainland—said he was detained by Chinese authorities in October during a visit to the mainland city of Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, and his travel documents were confiscated.

Mr. Lam said he was blindfolded, handcuffed and taken by train to a cell measuring 200 to 300 square feet in the eastern city of Ningbo, about 13 hours away. There, Mr. Lam said, he was repeatedly interrogated by officers, whose exact roles and titles were unclear, and was forced to sign a document admitting guilt for mailing banned books to mainland China.

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From the Guardian –

China behaving like ‘gangster’ state with bookseller kidnap, say Hong Kong politicians

“It’s now obvious to everyone that the so-called ‘one country, two systems’ promise is completely in tatters,” she said. “We need to stand firm and stand tall and really fight back.”

“This is not just an ordinary detention,” she said of Lam’s rendition. “This is literally a kidnapping by Beijing authorities.”

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From the BBC –

Hong Kong bookseller: China TV confession was ‘forced’

Mr Lam said a confession broadcast on Chinese television in February, featuring four of the men, had been scripted.

“It was a show, and I accepted it,” he told a news conference on Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post.

“They gave me the script. I had to follow the script. If I did not follow it strictly, they would ask for a retake.”

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From rthk.hk –

I was kidnapped by ‘special forces’: Lam Wing-kee
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Lam Wing-kee also said he was sent back to Hong Kong with an order to return with more details about the bookshop’s customers, but said he has changed his mind and will not return to the mainland.

He said he decided to speak out as he had “less of a burden” than his four colleagues linked to the bookstore.

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From the South China Morning Post –

Daughter of missing Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai hopeful after return of Lam Wing-kee

Angela Gui, daughter of one of the five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing, has expressed hope that the status and whereabouts of her father Gui Minhai will emerge following the release this week of Lam Wing-kee.

The case of Gui, the last of the Causeway Bay publishers yet to emerge free, could grow more complex following Lam’s explosive revelations on Thursday that he was abducted and detained by mainland authorities.

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