Hong Kong-based Causeway Bay Books is to reopen in Taipei next year, the store’s former manager Lam Wing-kei (林榮基) said.
The politically progressive bookstore was forcefully closed last year following the detention of five of its staff, including Lam, by Chinese authorities.
“[The reopening] is symbolic of the resistance against China in the spirit of Causeway Bay Books,” Lam said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times).
Photo: Sean Chao, Taipei Times
The store is to be sponsored by a Hong Kong democracy group that wished to remain anonymous and whose leader participated in the pro-democracy protest in the territory on July 1, Lam said.
The sponsor wants a swift reopening, but the “timing is not ideal,” because “Taiwanese independent bookstores fare worse than their Hong Kong counterparts,” Lam said, referring to a famed bookstore in Tainan that folded in April and another in Taipei that is facing a financial crisis.
Lam in February visited the city for the Taipei International Book Exhibition, but denied speculation that he would relaunch the bookstore in Taiwan.
However, he said the encouragement of Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates changed his mind.
“After some consideration, I think I am still capable of doing something, so I agreed. Running a bookstore is very interesting,” he said.
During another visit in May, Lam visited several independent bookstores across the nation to learn about operating costs, which he said he would continue to investigate while in Taiwan next month.
The bookstore would be launched downtown and would be slightly bigger than before, he said, adding that it would feature sensitive books that are banned in China.
“Chinese tourists would be the target. [The location] has to be easy for them to visit and they could bring some books back to China,” he said.
Lam said he would be personally involved in the store’s operations until it is financially sustainable without sponsorship.
“Causeway Bay Books might reopen in Hong Kong” if its business in Taiwan thrives, he said.
Although China has reduced its surveillance of him, the retired Lam said he had to be “careful” because “the Chinese Communist Party is crazy and no one can predict its behavior.”
Asked if he would immigrate to Taiwan, Lam said it would depend on whether China amends the Hong Kong Basic Law to allow the arrest of people suspected of treason, secession, sedition or subversion.
“I would have to run if China tried to arrest me according to this law. [Late Chinese rights activist] Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) was in a terrible condition, which is what worries me the most,” Lam said.
While average Hong Kongers can stay in Taiwan for up to three months, Lam was only permitted to stay for up to 10 days.
Lam said the government asked him to submit a report and itinerary for his entrance application, a complicated process that even Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong (程翔), who was imprisoned by China for espionage charges, is exempted from.
The government in May had asked Lam not to publicly announce his visit and law enforcement officers accompanied him throughout his stay in Taiwan, Lam said.
Since Lam is a public figure, pre-visit security planning is necessary to prevent violent incidents such as the one in January against Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the National Immigration Agency said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS