Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Group Sells Banned Books To Call Out China's Detention Of Five Local Booksellers

by Jean Marie Abellana / Feb 10, 2016 08:57 PM EST

Pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong highlighted the secrets of the hidden industry into the public spotlight by selling books (Photo by Chris McGrath/ Getty Images News)

The controversial and mysterious disappearance of five local booksellers who have been in the custody of police authorities from mainland China has fueled the desire for pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong to highlight the secrets of China's hidden industry into the public spotlight.

The Telegraph reported that the Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and the Hong Kong Alliance displayed more than 50 books in their stalls depicting contents that are highly forbidden in the mainland. The book titles suggest issues of assassination attempts, secret affairs and conspiracies among the ruling political elites of China. Some of these books included titles like "The Secret Trade Between Rich People and Top Officials" and the "Rumor and Truth About Chinese Authorities."

Albert Ho, the chairperson of the group and a lawmaker in Hong Kong, said that all of the book titles were mainly displayed at the Causeway Bay Bookstore before it got close following the mysterious disappearance of the booksellers.

"This news has attracted a lot of interested buyers to our stall to look for different types of books, so sales have been quite good," Ho said. However, he added that the book publisher refused to provide another stock perhaps because of "political pressure from the mainland."

Paul Tang, a bookseller specializing in high-level political scandals, said that most of the customers who were in possession of the banned books need to hide them carefully when traveling back to the mainland, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have communicated with the Hong Kong police about the status of the missing booksellers namely Lam Wing Kee, Cheung ChiPing, Lui Por and Gui Minhai. Reports stated that they were still under investigation because of performing "illegal activities."

The incident at Hong Kong had drawn attention from authorities in Europe and United States. Moreover, officials from Hong Kong said they are still continuing their own inquiry and investigation into the matter.