Story perspectives

Mong Kok Bookstores Close After Police Raids, Amnesty Condemns Arrests

7/18/2026

Left

Mong Kok Bookstores Shut

Owners of the Mong Kok bookstores said they will shut on Aug. 30, citing financial strain and an uncertain social climate.
Police raided two bookstores in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district, taking books alleged to incite hatred against government, judiciary, police.
Amnesty International condemned arrests of journalists Sum Wan-wah and Mandy Lau, saying law silences dissent.
Taiwan President William Lai voiced solidarity, urging respect views and warning speech restrictions harm discourse.

Right

Tang Bars Books

Security Secretary Chris Tang likened booksellers’ duty to vendors and said they must not sell material that endangers national security.
Security police searched two bookshops on July 15, arrested five people and announced Have a Nice Stay’s August closure.
Amnesty International condemned arrests and said sedition law is being used to silence dissent.
Have a Nice Stay cited an “elusive red line” of unclear illegal-book rules as reason.

Blindspot

Left coverage emphasized Taiwan President William Lai’s expression of solidarity and warning about silencing words, a detail not present in Right coverage.
Left coverage highlighted the Committee to Protect Journalists’ characterization of the raid as an attack on press freedom, which Right coverage did not mention.

History

Historical Context

In July 1999 Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa pushed Article 23 security bills, prompting 500,000 protesters and a 31-28 Legislative Council defeat that forced withdrawal. The setback echoed the massive 1 July 2003 half-million rally that shelved a similar bill, and set a precedent for later security moves, including the 2020 national-security law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

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Mong Kok Bookstores Shut

Owners of the Mong Kok bookstores said they will shut on Aug. 30, citing financial strain and an uncertain social climate.
Police raided two bookstores in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district, taking books alleged to incite hatred against government, judiciary, police.
Amnesty International condemned arrests of journalists Sum Wan-wah and Mandy Lau, saying law silences dissent.
Taiwan President William Lai voiced solidarity, urging respect views and warning speech restrictions harm discourse.

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