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| The former Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong | |
Causeway Bay Books, the Hong Kong bookstore that closed in late 2015 after five members of its staff and its publishing arm, Mighty Current, were kidnapped and detained by China, will reopen later this year, but in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, according to Nikkei Asian Review, which spoke with one of the booksellers, Lam Wing-Kee.
The store is being funded by "a group of pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, who wish to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions," the Review wrote. Lam, who will be an adviser but will not not involved in day-to-day operations, commented: "It's 90% for sure now. The only thing is to find the right people and place. It will be more like a symbol--a symbol of resistance--just like Causeway Bay Books has done before."
Lam was seized by Chinese authorities in 2015 and spent eight months in detention in China before being released. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he confirmed that he had been seized, interrogated and mistreated.
Mighty Current and Causeway Bay Bookstore were known for publishing and selling books critical of the current leaders of the Chinese government and the Communist Party. The books are particularly popular among mainland Chinese; the official Chinese view has been that such critical books are based on fabrications.