Inconsistencies emerge from Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee’s comments on his detention
The bookseller maintains that colleague Lee Po gave him the impression he was taken to the mainland involuntarily, although Lee denies this
21 June 2016
Fresh questions have emerged after Causeway Bay Books founder Lam Wing-kee gave marathon media interviews on Sunday.
While he offered an account of what happened between October last year when he was detained in Shenzhen and last week when he returned to Hong Kong, Lam also came up with inconsistencies when he touched on the disappearance of fellow bookseller Lee Po.
Lee’s case was the most high-profile – before Lam’s explosive exposé – as he was the only one to have vanished on Hong Kong soil before resurfacing on the mainland, raising questions about whether mainland officers had carried out duties outside their jurisdiction.
During his press conference on Thursday, Lam claimed that Lee told him he was abducted to the mainland when the pair met up on Lam’s return to Hong Kong.
But Lee quickly rebutted his claim.
On Sunday, Lam toned down his wording and said it was Lee’s tone that led him to believe Lee’s departure from Hong Kong was an involuntary act.
“It was very obvious. You could tell from [Lee’s] tone,” he said. “His tone. He didn’t say it directly.”
Lam maintained his “unambiguous” understanding that Lee was taken away against his will. Lam added that Lee had no choice but to deny the claim because he had family members in Fujian.
Bookseller Lee Po has denied telling Lam that he was abducted. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, who accompanied Lam at his press conference, said the government had the best evidence.
“There was CCTV footage showing how Lee left the warehouse in Chai Wan,” Ho said. “Police can get it.”
Lam also revealed on Sunday that while in custody, an interrogator told him the authorities planned to hand down a sentence against fellow bookseller Gui Minhai between September and December and set the others free.
Gui’s daughter, Angela, told the Post that she had no idea why only her father had been targeted.
“I have no idea. I wish it had been made clear to me. And it doesn’t seem that Lam knows either,” she said. “That’s the kind of information I have wanted for so long.”
She added: “If they have already planned to sentence him, that obviously means they haven’t planned to give him a fair trial. That’s a continuation of the illegal behaviour we have seen, which makes me really sad not just for personal reasons, but also because that’s not the way it is supposed to be.”
Angela is studying in Britain. Her father, who vanished in Pattaya, Thailand, is a Swedish citizen.
The father has been accused of ordering his bookstore associates to deliver about 4,000 books banned on the mainland to customers there since October 2014.
He was also accused of killing a 23-year-old university student in a drink-driving case in Ningbo, Zhejiang province in 2004.
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Inconsistencies emerge from Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee’s comments on his detention
The bookseller maintains that colleague Lee Po gave him the impression he was taken to the mainland involuntarily, although Lee denies this
21 June 2016
Fresh questions have emerged after Causeway Bay Books founder Lam Wing-kee gave marathon media interviews on Sunday.
While he offered an account of what happened between October last year when he was detained in Shenzhen and last week when he returned to Hong Kong, Lam also came up with inconsistencies when he touched on the disappearance of fellow bookseller Lee Po.
Lee’s case was the most high-profile – before Lam’s explosive exposé – as he was the only one to have vanished on Hong Kong soil before resurfacing on the mainland, raising questions about whether mainland officers had carried out duties outside their jurisdiction.
During his press conference on Thursday, Lam claimed that Lee told him he was abducted to the mainland when the pair met up on Lam’s return to Hong Kong.
But Lee quickly rebutted his claim.
On Sunday, Lam toned down his wording and said it was Lee’s tone that led him to believe Lee’s departure from Hong Kong was an involuntary act.
“It was very obvious. You could tell from [Lee’s] tone,” he said. “His tone. He didn’t say it directly.”
Lam maintained his “unambiguous” understanding that Lee was taken away against his will. Lam added that Lee had no choice but to deny the claim because he had family members in Fujian.
Bookseller Lee Po has denied telling Lam that he was abducted. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, who accompanied Lam at his press conference, said the government had the best evidence.
“There was CCTV footage showing how Lee left the warehouse in Chai Wan,” Ho said. “Police can get it.”
Lam also revealed on Sunday that while in custody, an interrogator told him the authorities planned to hand down a sentence against fellow bookseller Gui Minhai between September and December and set the others free.
Gui’s daughter, Angela, told the Post that she had no idea why only her father had been targeted.
“I have no idea. I wish it had been made clear to me. And it doesn’t seem that Lam knows either,” she said. “That’s the kind of information I have wanted for so long.”
She added: “If they have already planned to sentence him, that obviously means they haven’t planned to give him a fair trial. That’s a continuation of the illegal behaviour we have seen, which makes me really sad not just for personal reasons, but also because that’s not the way it is supposed to be.”
Angela is studying in Britain. Her father, who vanished in Pattaya, Thailand, is a Swedish citizen.
The father has been accused of ordering his bookstore associates to deliver about 4,000 books banned on the mainland to customers there since October 2014.
He was also accused of killing a 23-year-old university student in a drink-driving case in Ningbo, Zhejiang province in 2004.
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