Hong Kong police have arrested a bookstore owner and employee over the sale of a Jimmy Lai biography, according to reports.

HONG KONG, March 25 — Hong Kong police arrested a bookstore owner and three employees yesterday for allegedly selling “seditious” materials, including a biography of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, broadcaster TVB reported.

Pong Yat-ming, owner of the Book Punch store, and three staff were accused of selling copies of The Troublemaker, a biography of Lai written by his former business director, Mark Clifford, according to TVB.

Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February for collusion with foreign forces and sedition, marking the city’s largest national security case.

A police spokesman did not comment directly on the reported arrests, stating only that authorities “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law.”

A notice posted outside Book Punch read: “Resting for a day due to emergency, sorry for the inconvenience.”

Reuters was unable to reach Pong for comment and could not confirm whether he or the staff had been formally charged. Clifford, now based in New York, said he was unaware of the arrests but added, “If true, it’s a sad and ironic commentary that selling a book about a man jailed for promoting free expression would be treated as sedition.”

Under Hong Kong’s national security law, sedition can carry up to seven years in prison, or up to 10 years if linked to collusion with an “external force.” Broader security legislation was imposed by Beijing in 2020 following widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019, which officials said threatened the city’s stability.

Following the arrests, two other independent bookstores announced temporary closures, as readers and supporters expressed concern. Many independent shops in Hong Kong provide wider access to political and social titles than mainstream stores, some of which are controlled by the state-owned Sino United Publishing.

Pong is also facing an ongoing case from January, having pleaded not guilty to three charges of operating an unregistered school after hosting a Spanish class at Book Punch last year.

Other independent bookstores, such as Hunter Bookstore, have reported regular inspections by government departments and tax authorities. Mount Zero, in Sheung Wan, closed in 2024 after a series of anonymous complaints and visits from authorities.

In further measures against dissent, the Hong Kong government on Monday introduced new rules allowing customs officers to seize items deemed to have “seditious intention” and enabling police with a magistrate’s warrant to demand passwords from suspects under the national security law, with penalties for non-compliance.

Hunter Bookstore stated it would remain open but urged the government to maintain an updated public list of publications considered seditious. “Books and publishing are not just independent businesses; they are the cultural foundation of society,” it said. — Reuters