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| Bookseller abduction will be taken up with China, says Hong Kong leader | Bookseller abduction will be taken up with China, says Hong Kong leader |
| (2 months later) | |
| Hong Kong’s chief executive has said he will raise concerns with Beijing over the case of a bookseller secretly detained for months in mainland China. | Hong Kong’s chief executive has said he will raise concerns with Beijing over the case of a bookseller secretly detained for months in mainland China. |
| Leung Chun-ying said officials would review a notification system that is supposed to alert the Hong Kong government if one of its residents is detained by mainland authorities for illegal activity. | Leung Chun-ying said officials would review a notification system that is supposed to alert the Hong Kong government if one of its residents is detained by mainland authorities for illegal activity. |
| Leung told reporters he “attaches great importance” to the case of Lam Wing-kee, one of five booksellers whose disappearance raised international concern over fears Beijing is eroding Hong Kong’s wide autonomy. | Leung told reporters he “attaches great importance” to the case of Lam Wing-kee, one of five booksellers whose disappearance raised international concern over fears Beijing is eroding Hong Kong’s wide autonomy. |
| The bookseller returned to Hong Kong last week and spoke publicly about his treatment. | The bookseller returned to Hong Kong last week and spoke publicly about his treatment. |
| In Leung’s first public comments on the case, he said he would write to Beijing to express Hong Kong residents’ “high level of concern” over Lam’s disappearance. | In Leung’s first public comments on the case, he said he would write to Beijing to express Hong Kong residents’ “high level of concern” over Lam’s disappearance. |
| Lam has told the Guardian he was subjected to “a form of psychological torture” including months of solitary confinement and interrogations after he was detained by government agents as he tried to enter the mainland via Shenzhen. | Lam has told the Guardian he was subjected to “a form of psychological torture” including months of solitary confinement and interrogations after he was detained by government agents as he tried to enter the mainland via Shenzhen. |
| “You’ve made a big mistake,” Lam recalled one of the agents saying. “We are here to interrogate you.” | “You’ve made a big mistake,” Lam recalled one of the agents saying. “We are here to interrogate you.” |
| Lam said he was taken blindfolded to a detention centre that he later learned was in Ningbo, near Shanghai. There his interrogators grilled him, daily at first and then every week or so as the months passed. That was the only time he was allowed to leave what he said was a padded cell, designed to prevent detainees from killing themselves. | Lam said he was taken blindfolded to a detention centre that he later learned was in Ningbo, near Shanghai. There his interrogators grilled him, daily at first and then every week or so as the months passed. That was the only time he was allowed to leave what he said was a padded cell, designed to prevent detainees from killing themselves. |
| Jerome Cohen, a China expert and professor of law at New York University, said Lam’s case showed China was willing to reach within its borders and beyond to “detain and torture” suspected dissidents. | Jerome Cohen, a China expert and professor of law at New York University, said Lam’s case showed China was willing to reach within its borders and beyond to “detain and torture” suspected dissidents. |
| Lam’s claim of a specialised Chinese unit being involved mirrored those of senior party officials such as Zhou Yongkang, a senior politburo member convicted of corruption. “He has confirmed that this case is not the product of some out-of-control local officials in southern China but emanates from the party centre,” Cohen said. | Lam’s claim of a specialised Chinese unit being involved mirrored those of senior party officials such as Zhou Yongkang, a senior politburo member convicted of corruption. “He has confirmed that this case is not the product of some out-of-control local officials in southern China but emanates from the party centre,” Cohen said. |
| William Nee, a China researcher for Amnesty International, said: “Lam’s allegations would seem to indicate that this is being ordered from almost the highest levels of Chinese government.” | William Nee, a China researcher for Amnesty International, said: “Lam’s allegations would seem to indicate that this is being ordered from almost the highest levels of Chinese government.” |
| With Associated Press | With Associated Press |
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