It's no secret that the Chinese government has no problem making people disappear that are causing a problem for the communist regime – we have written about the topic many times (here, here, and here).
However, the latest case of a disappearance (that we're aware of) is most interesting. Beginning late last year, five booksellers from the shop Causeway Bay Books (which among other things sells books containing political gossip) in Hong Kong went missing, and all of them later surfaced in China in police custody for illegally trading banned books in mainland China. All have returned to Hong Kong except one, and the most recent to be returned home is Lam Wing-kee, who was reportedly back in Hong Kong earlier this week. At the time, Lam didn't have anything to say about what happened, "he refused to disclose other details regarding his absence" the police said.
It appears that now, Lam has a lot to say about what happened. In a televised news conference, Lam said he was detained by Chinese authorities while visiting the mainland city of Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, and his travel documents were confiscated. Lam was then blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken by train to the eastern city of Ningbo about 13 hours away where he would spend the next five months in a 200 to 300 square foot cell before being moved to an apartment. Lam would be watched 24 hours a day by Chinese guards, and even something as simple as brushing his teeth would be monitored. A string was even tied to the toothbrush for fear Lam may want to harm himself. Lam said the he was detained by a little known "Central Examination Group" of the Chinese Communist Party, a special task force that reports to senior Beijing leaders.
"I couldn't call my family. I could only look up to the sky, all alone.", "they wanted to lock you up until you go mad" Lam said.
Lam said he had to sign away his right to a lawyer and right to contact his family, and was subsequently questioned 20 to 30 times about his role in Hong Kong's publishing industry. At one point, Lam said that he was forced to sign a confession that books were unlawfully sold in order to harm the Chinese society. The confession also was also written to incriminate his colleague (who also has been disappeared, and has yet to return).
"It was a show, and I accept it. I had to follow the script. If I did not follow it strictly, they would ask for a retake" Lam said regarding the confession.
Chinese authorities thought that Lam would continue to cooperate, so Lam was apparently allowed to travel back to Hong Kong after promising to return to the mainland with a hard drive full of information on customers. Instead, Lam held a press conference, and said "I dare not go back. I don't plan on setting foot in mainland China ever again."
The details provided by Lam not surprisingly contradict China's claims that nobody had been taken, rather everyone who disappeared had turned themselves in voluntarily to cooperate with an investigation – Beijing's go to line whenever anyone mysteriously turns up missing.
"Lam Wing-kee has blown apart the Chinese authorities' story. He has exposed what many have suspected all along: that this was a concerted operation by the Chinese to go after the booksellers." said Mabel Au, Amnesty International's director in Hong Kong.
"If we remain silent, if I, myself, being the least vulnerable among the booksellers remain silent, Hong Kong will become hopeless. It took lots of courage, and two sleepless nights of consideration, for me to decide to share the whole story with you and tell the whole world that this incident is not only about me or the bookstore. It's about the core value that the people of Hong Kong need to safeguard. Hong Kongers should not bow down to the power" Lam said during the press conference.
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The incident, aside for the fact that humans are being abducted, provides Hong Kong with evidence that the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997 is being violated.The system was to guarantee separate laws and freedoms not granted elsewhere in China for 50 years. While we certainly can appreciate that there are theoretical frameworks in place to separate mainland China and Hong Kong, we are realists, and the reality is that China will do what it pleases when it comes to these matters. We hope we don't learn of another Lam Wing-kee disappearance as a result of this decision to expose what really takes place behind the scenes – it certainly was a courageous thing to do.
Here is how China views the "one country, two system" framework:
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