Bookseller Lee Bo ‘back in mainland’

Bookseller Lee Bo ‘back in mainland’; hails China’s development, says his rights were protected

25 March 2016 13:13

 Tom Grundy & Kris Cheng

3 min read

Recently returned bookseller Lee Bo left his Hong Kong flat at around 9am on Friday, telling reporters that he is able to travel across the Chinese border. He said that he would “not publish books” again.

Lee then got onto a van with a cross-boundary plate and reached the Lok Ma Chau boundary checkpoint at around 10:20am, Apple Dailyreported. He requested privacy and said he would be visiting family graveyards in China in a few days’ time.

Lee was hounded by reporters on Saturday morning. Photo: RTHK/TVB screenshots.

On Thursday, Lee returned to the city using his Hong Kong identity card, according to police. He requested that his missing person report be canceled after meeting with immigration and police officers.

Photo: Apple Daily.

‘Proud as a Chinese’

As he crossed the border into Hong Kong, Lee was interviewed by Phoenix TV, thepaper.cn and Sing Tao Daily. He said that the investigation he was assisting with had yet to be completed and that he may need to return to the mainland. He added that mainland law enforcement agencies were “civilised” in their dealings with him.

“They did things according to regulations and laws, all the rights that I should have were protected,” he said.

Photo: Apple Daily.

Lee said that he intended to take his son to the mainland for medical treatment.

“In the past few months, I have been to many places with my wife, seen many people [and] experienced the advanced medical resources on the mainland. I feel the mainland has developed well, I feel proud as a Chinese… I am preparing to bring my son for treatment on the mainland later. My feeling is that, as a Hong Kong person, Hong Kong’s development must rely on China,” he said.

‘Smuggled’ himself

Lee was appeared on Phoenix TV in February saying that he “smuggled” himself into China to help with an investigation. He also said that he did not want anyone to make a fuss about his case.

Five booksellers connected with Causeway Bay Books and Mighty Current publishing, which specialises in Chinese political gossip titles, all went missing late last year, only to resurface in the mainland later. Two booksellers recently returned to the city, though police say they are still following up with mainland authorities on the status of Lam Wing-kei, who remains officially missing.