Hong Kong prisoner support group says Customs confiscated over 60 books imported from Taiwan
A Hong Kong group that supports people jailed in politics-related cases has said that authorities have confiscated more than 60 books imported from Taiwan for its partner retail outlet.
Waiting Bird said in a social media post on Monday that it was meant to receive a shipment of books from Taiwan on October 13, but the package arrived a week late.
The group’s logistics firm informed it that Customs had seized its stock for an inspection.
When the books arrived at the group’s partner retail outlet As One on October 20, the original two-box shipment was reduced to half a box, with over 60 books missing, Waiting Bird said.
In a notice to the logistics firm, Customs said it was using powers under new rules – added to the Beijing-imposed national security law in March – that enabled Customs officers to seize items suspected of having seditious intention, even if no arrests had been carried out.
Waiting Bird said in the social media post that the books being held by Customs were “rational discussions about current affairs, and personal experiences and feelings, with no connection whatsoever to seditious intentions.”
“Whether there are suspicions about the book titles, the group itself, if there is a blacklist – or whether this was simply an impromptu enforcement action – remains unknown to us at this stage,” the post read.
Waiting Bird project officer Brandon told HKFP this was the first time their books had been inspected by Customs.
The confiscated titles included four books the group had already been selling, and which were also available at other bookstores.
Asked if the seizure had an effect on business, Brandon said: “I don’t think there will be an immediate impact. I think the people who are supporting us understand and will continue to support us.”
Waiting Bird was founded in 2022 by ex-district councillor Derek Chu, who also owns As One, a retail outlet that sells snacks, household items, books, and other goods with a focus on locally-made products.
Revenue from As One is used to support Waiting Bird, which provides supplies for people jailed over their involvement in the 2019 protests and unrest and other political cases.
‘No intention’ to endanger national security
Hong Kong authorities have tightened scrutiny of independent bookstores this year. Bookstore owners have said that books ordered from Taiwan – the source for many Chinese-language titles – are frequently inspected by Customs.
In March, staff from Book Punch were arrested, and in June, staff from Hunter Bookstore were apprehended.
In July, staff from Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore were arrested on the same day. A day before the arrests, Have a Nice Stay announced it would close down after four years in operation.
After the arrests, Greenfield Bookstore also said it would shut after its lease expired next year.
Books were also seized when national security police raided the stores.
The Waiting Bird incident, however, is the first known case of books being confiscated without any accompanying arrests. Books held and inspected by Customs have typically still arrived at bookstores, albeit delayed.
“We have no intention or capacity to endanger the security of this country. We will continue to… accompany everyone through this era within the bounds of the law,” the post read.
HKFP has reached out to the Customs and Excise Department for comment.
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Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong.
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