The plight of Hong Kong’s independent bookstores shows the city is still under scrutiny

On a cool spring night, about 50 people gathered outside a bookstore at the end of a quiet alley for a book talk by two authors. These books are about travel, but not in a light mood.

This is the last event held by Lingshan, which recently announced it will close at the end of March after facing a series of minor violations from authorities, from using alleys for book talks to paving small uneven floors. Public space in front of the entrance.

“I’m very sad. There are fewer independent bookstores in Hong Kong. It’s becoming more and more difficult for them to survive,” said Raymond To, an artist who frequents the store.

One statistics shows that 40 Hong Kong independent bookstores have closed since 2020. Beijing saw widespread and sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019, the same year Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong.

While most closures are due to declining business, the economic downturn and waning interest in reading due to COVID-19, at least two have closed due to what owners say is political pressure or a less liberal environment.

Bookstores that sell politically sensitive content or are run by former politicians, journalists or other protest supporters are subject to visits by various government surveillance agents, according to store owners.

“Many bookstores in Hong Kong are subject to regular inspections by government departments, not every day, but from time to time,” said Raymond Yeung Tsz-chun, a partner at Hillway Culture, which closed in 2023. “We inspect them once a month. It’s like political pressure.”

While the government and its supporters credit the Beijing-backed national security law for restoring order in Hong Kong, others say it restricts civil liberties, including purging politically sensitive books from public libraries.

Independent bookstores are one of the few places where one can still find lost books from libraries and books no longer carried by large chain bookstores—including those about the democratic movement.

While some bookstores have become community gathering places for people trying to come to terms with Hong Kong’s changes, they are increasingly seen as part of the “soft resistance” to the tightening measures the government sees as necessary to rebuild Hong Kong’s stability.

“With the existence of bookstores, there is room for some liberal discussions. … Hong Kong people still view these types of bookstores as a last resort,” said Leticia Wong Man-huen, owner of Hunter Bookstore. “I think the government sees this too. They don’t want these spaces for liberal ideas and civil society to continue to exist.”

She said more than a dozen government officials representing various departments or agencies have visited her bookstore.

“This is not normal, as we know from different types of bookstores or different industries,” said Huang, a former pro-democracy district councilor.

The fire department would check her store to see if there were suitable fire extinguishers or if escape routes were blocked.

Yeung, who was jailed for protesting on the front lines, said Shanwei Culture had received visits from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), which issues permits for public events.

“The events we host require pre-registration, so technically they are not open to the public and do not require a public entertainment license in any sense. But once a complaint is received, the police will come anyway,” Yang said.

Other bookstores have also been raided by the Internal Revenue Service to see whether they were hiding business income.

The store owner said that due to the high rent in Hong Kong, it is already difficult to operate a bookstore, and frequent patronage brings challenges to running a bookstore.

“It really adds to our workload… mental and physical stress; you have to deal with different legal provisions because the power to interpret the rules is in their hands,” Huang said.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Fire Services Department issued separate statements to VOA saying they inspected the bookstore after receiving complaints of suspected violations. No irregularities were found in the cases they mentioned.

Despite the challenges, independent bookstores continue to stay open.

“People want to reserve space for civil society, and bookstores are a great platform for that,” Huang said.

Some are finding creative ways to survive, renting a corner from an existing bookstore, restaurant or cafe, selling books at a wet market stall, or running a mobile business that pops up in different places.

Lion’s Ink consists of just a few shelves inside another bookstore.

Its owner, Dexter Tse, a former history teacher who recently published a book on Hong Kong’s 7,000-year history, said it took just 15 minutes and $32 to register his company.

He didn’t have any problems because his store only sells history books about Hong Kong and Macau.

“We know there are some books that are dangerous — very, very sensitive — and we avoid them, such as books whose authors are famous political figures or have been jailed,” Xie said. “If only I could avoid those people.”

Huang’s store still sells books banned from the library, such as those about the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters, but she avoids buying publications with slogans from the 2019 protests that the government considers inflammatory.

“Of course, I try not to censor, but some books have covers or titles that are already sensitive… and I probably won’t sell those books,” she said.

While stores that do not sell politically sensitive books will not be affected, those that do are likely to continue to face pressure, especially after another security law was passed this week raising penalties for sedition.

After his partner decided to immigrate, Young closed his shop.

“I could find a new partner, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to find one person to deal with all these struggles we’ve had over the past few years,” Young said.

The owner of Lingshan Store, which hosted reading lectures by the two authors, declined to be interviewed, but posted on social media that he faced similar problems.

One of Hong Kong’s most popular independent bookstores, it often hosts talks by politically outspoken writers in a cul-de-sac under the shade of a 100-year-old banyan tree.

“On the weekends, I will come here…to feel the atmosphere here,” artist Du told VOA. “Here you can read any book you want, even books that are not sold by the three major bookstore chains in Hong Kong.”

He believes independent bookstores fill a need.

“It’s good to have a place like this for like-minded people,” he said.

Bookstores persist in refusing to write their final chapter.

“I’ll take it step by step,” Huang said. “I like books and I like Hong Kong. We have the right to read all kinds of books.”