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'Disappeared' Hong Kong Booksellers Detained in China Will Be Freed on Bail

Three of the men who disappeared and then resurfaced under suspicious circumstances will be released, while two men remain in Chinese custody.
Photo by Kin Cheung/AP

Three of five Hong Kong booksellers who went missing and then resurfaced in mainland China under suspicious circumstances will be released on bail, pending an investigation, police said.

Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee will be freed "in coming days," Hong Kong police said in a short statement late Wednesday. The men are all linked to Mighty Current, a publisher which sells gossipy titles about the private lives and political struggles of Chinese leaders. The police statement did not say whether the men would be allowed to return to Hong Kong. Two other booksellers also linked to Mighty Current, Gui Minhai, a Swedish national, and Lee Bo, a dual British and Hong Kong citizen, are expected to remain in custody.

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The booksellers separately went missing over the past six months, sparking fears that Chinese authorities had abducted some of the men and taken them back to China. The men have since been confirmed to be in China, being detained. At least one faces charges for selling and distributing books that are banned in China.

The saga, which has taken a number of curious turns, has provoked concern that China is using shadowy tactics to erode the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997. There is also international concern that China is cracking down on freedom of expression in Hong Kong.

Related: Hong Kong Bookseller Says He Wasn't Kidnapped After All, and Wants to Give Up His British Citizenship

Since resurfacing, some of the booksellers have also come forward to make televised confessions or statements on their whereabouts and activities. It is suspected they may have been pressure to do so.

In a 20-minute interview with China's Phoenix Television late on Monday, Lee gave the first detailed account of his disappearance from Hong Kong in December, claiming he had returned to China voluntarily.

"I have always felt that I'm a Hong Kong citizen, a Chinese citizen, and because people have used my British nationality to sensationalize and make the situation more complicated, that's why I'm deciding to give up my British nationality," he said, appearing calm.

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"Why have I acted so mysteriously? It's because I've had to assist with a mainland Chinese investigation and it required testifying against some people."

Some politicians were sceptical and said Lee may have been pressured to try to erase perceptions of Chinese authorities carrying out illegal cross-border enforcement operations. China has continued to deny that its law enforcement officials would never do anything illegal, especially not overseas, and called on foreign governments not to interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

Earlier on Sunday, Gui Minhai, Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee, gave details of their alleged offenses in an interview with Phoenix Television.

Gui, the owner of Mighty Current, which owns Causeway Bay Books, was singled out by the others as the mastermind.

"I have deeply reflected on what I have done and very much regret the illegal book trading I have carried out with Gui Minhai," said Lui Por in the television report.

"The illegal activities at Mighty Current and Causeway Bay Books were directed by Gui Minhai. I am willing to accept the punishments that the law brings me. I truly repent," Cheung Chi-ping said.

In a four-minute report that involved exclusive interviews with the four, they confessed to selling "unauthorized" books in China via an online platform and evading customs inspections to deliver some 4,000 books to 380 customers since October 2014.

Gui said he had altered and obscured the covers of the Hong Kong-printed books with nylon bags to "evade" customs security checks. The group had also opened a bank account in China to make payments.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei acknowledged the television reports in a daily briefing, saying the men had "already admitted to their actions," without elaborating.

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