Lin Rongji: The bookstore at the Causeway Bay Taipei bookstore, once arrested by mainland China, reopens, “Taiwan is a haven for the people of Hong Kong”

Lin Rongji, a Hong Kong bookseller who was arrested by mainland Chinese authorities, reopened his bookstore in Taiwan.

He was one of five booksellers detained by the Chinese authorities in 2015. They published and sold books criticizing senior officials of the Beijing regime and sent them to the mainland.

Last year, he feared he would be extradited back to mainland China after Hong Kong reviewed runaway criminal regulations and fled to Taiwan.

Taiwanese authorities said the local reopening of the bookstore is a symbol of Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.

At the new store in Taipei, Lin Rongji told the media: “This reopening is very significant.”

“The Causeway Bay bookstore was destroyed by the violence in China. This reopening shows that Taiwan is a free and democratic place, and we still have the right to study.”

Taipei BBC Special Correspondent Cindy Sui reported that Lin Rongji said she originally wanted to open the store due to the new coronavirus epidemic, but the small bookstore on the tenth floor of a commercial district building was still full of reporters. and support. In addition, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen also sent people to send flowers and congratulations.

Lin Rongji called those who took to the streets last year to participate in protests in Hong Kong and believed that their security was threatened by coming to Taiwan to continue their struggles abroad.

“Taiwan is the last stronghold of the Hong Kong people, because if they stay in Hong Kong, they are still repressed by this kind of pressure. The Hong Kong people have another way out, that is, to come to Taiwan.”

He said that his opening of this bookstore was also a struggle.

In early April, he was threatened by splashes of red paint in Taipei.

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In 2015 Lin Rongji was arrested in mainland China and detained for more than 400 days.

Several bookstores and bookstore staff, including him, went missing and were later found detained by the Chinese authorities. This is considered part of China’s crackdown on some Hong Kong bookstores. These bookstores publish and sell books that criticize Chinese leaders.

Lin Rongji’s arrest made Hong Kong people more concerned that China would further clamp down on Hong Kong’s freedom. This fear led to large-scale demonstrations and struggles that lasted for many months last year.

Lin Rongji fled Hong Kong to Taiwan a few months ago, when Hong Kong was considering passing legislation to allow mainland China to extradite fugitives from Hong Kong.

He launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to “reopen” the Causeway Bay bookstore, raising more than NT $ 3 million on the first day.

Why did Lin Rongji leave Hong Kong?

In June 2016, Lin Rongji, who had just returned to Hong Kong, told the media that the condition for his release was to retrieve a list of people who had stored books purchased from his mainly continental publisher.

However, he stated that he did not intend to provide this information, and he also described in detail his situation at the time of his arrest: he was held in solitary confinement and under 24-hour surveillance, during which he had considered committing suicide.

He also said that the footage of the confession broadcast on mainland Chinese television stations was a confession read according to the manuscript.

The Chinese side stated that Lin Rongji had violated his release conditions.