These bookshops let Chinese readers question their country - now the doors are closing

What the report says

Independent bookshops in Hong Kong that have long attracted mainland Chinese readers are coming under growing pressure, according to BBC World News. The article focuses on Hunter Bookstore in Sham Shui Po and other similar shops that have sold politically sensitive titles, including books on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, authoritarianism and the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. For visitors such as a 23-year-old reader from Guangzhou, these stores have offered access to material and discussion that is difficult to find on the mainland.

BBC reports that police raided Hunter Bookstore on 24 June and arrested its owner, Letitia Wong, and another man on sedition and money laundering accusations. The pair deny the charges and have been released on bail. Other independent shops have also been searched or closed in recent months, including Book Punch, Greenfield Bookstore and Have a Nice Stay. Greenfield later announced it would shut once its lease ends, becoming the third independent bookshop to close within a month.

The report places these developments in the broader context of Hong Kong’s tightening political environment since the 2019 protests and the introduction of Beijing’s National Security Law. Rights groups and critics say those measures have narrowed space for free expression, while Beijing argues they are needed for stability. As a background point, Hong Kong’s independent bookstores have historically served as meeting places for readers seeking broader political and cultural debate.