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Hong Kong bookseller mystery deepens after letter appears | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The wife of Hong Kong bookseller Lee Bo who disappeared last week has withdrawn her request for police to help find him, saying he has been in contact. | |
It comes as a letter said to have been handwritten by Mr Lee was published by Taiwan's Central News Agency. | |
It says he went to China himself and is "working with the concerned parties". | |
Mr Lee is the fifth man linked to a shop selling works critical of China's government to be reported missing since October. | Mr Lee is the fifth man linked to a shop selling works critical of China's government to be reported missing since October. |
The disappearance of the men has raised concerns that China is undermining the territory's legal independence. | The disappearance of the men has raised concerns that China is undermining the territory's legal independence. |
Local legislator Albert Ho has said Mr Lee - also known as Paul Lee - was kidnapped and taken to the mainland. | |
Is the letter genuine? The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong explains | |
It's another twist in the mystery of the missing bookseller. | |
Human rights activists who have been advocating for the Lee family say they believe the letter is genuine. | |
In it, Paul Lee appears to be taking responsibility for leaving Hong Kong. And he implies he will be staying in mainland China for some time. | |
The activists believe the letter was indeed written by Mr Lee, but under instruction from whoever is holding him. | |
The intent, they say, is to tame the public outcry that has been sparked by his disappearance. | |
Mr Lee's wife, Sophie Choi, had said last week that he had called her from Shenzhen, just over the border in mainland China, and told her he was helping with an investigation. | |
She had said his return permit, which Hong Kong citizens must show to enter China, was still at home - seen by some as evidence he may have been abducted by security agents. | |
But in the letter dated Sunday, which was said to have been faxed to his colleague, Mr Lee says he "returned to mainland my own way". | |
He also said: "I am very well. Everything is fine. And please do look after the bookstore." | |
Book links | |
Mr Lee was the person who raised the alarm when four of his colleagues at the tiny Causeway Bay Bookstore and related publishing house, Mighty Current, went missing in October. | Mr Lee was the person who raised the alarm when four of his colleagues at the tiny Causeway Bay Bookstore and related publishing house, Mighty Current, went missing in October. |
One of them, publishing house owner Gui Minhai, was last seen in Thailand. The other three were last seen in mainland China. | One of them, publishing house owner Gui Minhai, was last seen in Thailand. The other three were last seen in mainland China. |
The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says some suspect the men's disappearance is connected to a book the publisher may have been planning about an alleged former mistress of Chinese President Xi Jinping. | |
There has been no official comment from the Chinese government on Mr Lee's case. | |
However, an editorial printed in the Global Times newspaper, a mouthpiece for the Chinese government, on Tuesday, said some were trying to "hype" the incident and turn it into a political issue "to create estrangement between Hong Kong and the mainland". |