Death of Hong Kong Bookseller Lam Wing-kee in Taiwan

Lam Wing-kee, a former Hong Kong bookseller known for his resistance to Beijing’s crackdown on free speech, has died in Taiwan. The island’s Central News Agency reported his death, citing an unnamed source.

The cause of death was not specified, but Lam had a cancer relapse last year. He was admitted to MacKay Memorial Hospital in Taipei on Tuesday. Lam fell into a coma on Wednesday and died on Thursday evening.

Lam previously worked at Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong. In 2019, fearing legal troubles, he moved to Taipei and reopened the bookstore under the same name in 2020.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te expressed condolences, stating, “The passing of Mr. Lam Wing-kee is deeply saddening, but the courage he left behind would not fade.” He emphasized that Lam showed the importance of freedom and democracy through his steadfast actions.

In late 2015, Lam was one of five individuals linked to Causeway Books who went missing. The bookstore sold materials that purported to reveal secrets about Chinese leaders and scandals. Another of the five, publisher Gui Minhai, disappeared from Thailand and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison in China.

In 2016, Lam offered a detailed account of his experience that challenged official Chinese narratives about the disappearance of the booksellers. He shared that he was seized by Chinese authorities in October 2015 after crossing the border from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. He described being blindfolded and taken on a 13-hour train ride to Ningbo, where he remained under constant surveillance for five months.

Lam recounted that he was coerced into confessing crimes on Chinese television. Despite this, he continued to advocate for freedom of speech.

In June, Lam informed the Central News Agency that he had temporarily closed his Taipei bookstore due to health issues, with no indication of when it would reopen.

Following the massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, authorities further tightened their grip on the territory. In June, Hong Kong police arrested two individuals for allegedly selling seditious publications and receiving funds from foreign political organizations. These actions were part of the enforcement of a recent national security law.