BOOKSELLER LIKELY ABDUCTED TO CHINA, U.K. SAYS

Britain says a missing Hong Kong bookseller was likely abducted to mainland China, calling it a “serious breach” of the treaty under which Beijing took control of the city.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a twiceyearly report on Hong Kong affairs released Thursday that Lee Bo was “involuntarily removed” to the mainland.

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was the first time that Britain has accused China of a “serious breach” of the 1984 treaty.

Lee, a British citizen, is one of five men linked to Hong Kong publishing company Mighty Current Media and its Causeway Bay Bookshop who have gone missing in recent months only to turn up later in mainland China.

Lee is chief editor of Mighty Current, which specialized in books critical of China’s leadership that were banned in the mainland.