These bookshops let Chinese readers question their country - now

The owner of Hunter bookstore, pictured here, was arrested in late June When Chen Zhu heads to Hong Kong from mainland China every month, there's one place she always goes: Hunter Bookstore.

Founded four years ago It's a short journey from Zhu's home in Guangzhou on China's southern coast to the crowded street in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po district, where Hunter is sandwiched between fabric sellers, garages and trendy cafes.

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But, for the 23-year-old, it is also a passage into a different, freer world - where she can find answers to forbidden questions.

When she learned the bookshop had been raided " Hong Kong saw a boom in independent bookshops after huge pro-democracy protests rocked the city in 2019. But it has been increasingly difficult for them to survive as China's control over the city has grown.

While Beijing defends its far-reaching National Security Law (NSL) as essential for stability, many Hong Kongers and rights groups argue it has crushed free speech. Thousands of locals, including activists and former lawmakers, have left in recent years, as tough new security laws have led to a slew of arrests and convictions.

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Books about the Tiananmen Square democracy movement and billionaire businessman and newspaper founder Jimmy Lai When law enforcement personnel searched Hunter Bookstore on 24 June, they accused owner Letitia Wong, 33, and a 32-year-old man, of violating those laws and arrested them for sedition and money laundering. They deny the charges and have since been released on bail.

In March, they arrested the owner of Book Punch, along with three employees on the same charges, and reportedly seized copies of a biography on Jimmy Lai, the jailed democracy campaigner.

On 15 July, when the annual Hong Kong Book Fair opened, national security law enforcement personnel searched two more independent bookshops, Greenfield Bookstore and Have a Nice Stay, arresting five people for sedition. They, too, have been released on bail.

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At the end of the month Greenfield posted on social media, saying: "Our store will be closing after our lease expires. Thank you for walking with us, through wind and rain, for 50 years since our opening." It was the third independent bookshop to shut within a month.

These bookshops have long had a loyal following not just in Hong Kong, but also among many mainland Chinese readers. Some like Zhu travel to the city in search of a single book.

For 19-year-old Li from Shanghai, who didn't give her first name, these are places where she "can see so many possibilities, and where existing ideas can be challenged". Others treasure them as spaces that offer a sense of freedom and community they feel is missing on the mainland.

Now they fear China is eroding that spirit in Hong Kong too.

Law enforcement personnel escort a worker out of Have a Nice Stay bookstore, whose t-shirt reads 'I am a bookshop employee' When Zhu began university in 2021, she became increasingly curious about lesser-discussed chapters of Chinese history - such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, a taboo topic that has been scrubbed off the country's tightly controlled internet.

The massive student-led protests ended in a bloody army crackdown whose toll is still contested. Beijing stated at the time that 200 civilians passed away, but according to de-classified UK diplomatic cables, at least 10,000 people were killed.

Zhu sought out films which touch on the era-defining event, but neither epic romance Summer Palace nor the secretly filmed gay drama Lan Yu could satisfy her curiosity.