A fifth Hong Kong bookseller vanishes

HONG KONG — Pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong said Sunday they will press the government for answers after a fifth employee of a publishing company specializing in books critical of mainland China’s leadership went missing.

Lawmaker Albert Ho said the city was “shocked and appalled” by the disappearance of Lee Bo. Like the four others who have disappeared in recent months, Lee is associated with publisher Mighty Current. While there’s been no official word on what happened to the five missing people, Ho told reporters it appears their disappearances are linked to the publishing company’s books.

“From the available information surrounding the disappearance of Mr. Lee Bo and his partners earlier, we have strong reason to believe that Mr. Lee Bo was probably kidnapped and then smuggled back to the mainland for political investigation,” Ho said.

Ho said one possible explanation for the disappearances was the publishing company was being pressured to scrap plans for an upcoming book rumoured to be about an old “girlfriend or mistress” of President Xi Jinping.

It’s not uncommon in mainland China for company executives and dissidents to be detained for lengthy periods by the authorities or vanish without anyone claiming responsibility, but the disappearances are unprecedented in Hong Kong.

A few dozen protesters marched to Beijing’s Liaison Office Sunday to demand information about Lee, Mighty Current’s chief editor. Lee, 65, is also one of the company’s major shareholders, the South China Morning Post reported.

The company’s co-owner, Gui Minhai, is also among those missing, as are three staff members.

Mighty Current and its Causeway Bay Bookstore are known for gossipy titles about Chinese political scandals and other sensitive issues.

Books by Mighty Current are banned on the mainland but are available in Hong Kong, which enjoys freedom of the press and other civil liberties unseen on the mainland because of its status as a specially administered region of China.