Following the June search of Hunter Bookstore by the Hong Kong Police’s National Security Department and the arrest of its owner Wong Man-huen and others, Hong Kong’s independent bookstores have once again become targets of national security enforcement.
On July 15, “Have A Nice Stay” — which had announced it would close on August 30 — was searched by the Hong Kong Police’s National Security Department. Staff were handcuffed and taken away, and large quantities of books and store items were seized. On the same day, “Field Bookstore” in Mong Kok was also searched. Police later stated that two men and three women had been arrested on suspicion of violating sedition-related provisions under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
Have A Nice Stay had announced its impending closure only the day before, candidly stating that an “elusive red line” had become one of the key reasons for shutting down. The authorities have consistently refused to clarify which books may be published and which may not be sold, leaving publishers, bookstores, and cultural workers no choice but to self-censor amid uncertainty and fear. What is ultimately lost is not merely a bookstore, but the space for free discussion and the exchange of ideas across society as a whole.
The New School for Democracy Association expresses grave concern. A bookstore is not merely a place to sell books — it is an important public space for preserving historical memory, fostering public discussion, and nurturing diverse ideas.
When a government begins treating different ideas as threats, and even brings book sales and cultural activities under the framework of national security, what is eroded is freedom of expression, freedom of publication, and the civil society Hong Kong has long developed.
From Bleak House Books and Hunter Bookstore, to today’s Have A Nice Stay and Field Bookstore, we are witnessing not isolated incidents, but a microcosm of the sustained suppression of publishing freedom and cultural space in Hong Kong. The scope of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance continues to expand, exposing publishing and cultural activities touching on democracy, human rights, and Hong Kong’s history to legal risk, as self-censorship and a chilling effect keep spreading.
We again call on the Hong Kong government to stop abusing national security legislation to restrict freedom of expression, publication, and culture, and to guarantee the rights Hong Kong residents are entitled to under international human rights standards. We also call on the international community to continue monitoring Hong Kong’s human rights situation and to support every person there who still upholds publishing freedom, cultural freedom, and civic space.
The New School for Democracy Association will continue monitoring human rights developments in Hong Kong, standing with all who defend freedom.
When a regime begins to fear a book, we must not stop reading, thinking, and speaking out.