Hong Kong police arrest 2 booksellers on charges of sedition

2 booksellers held by Hong Kong police for selling seditious content

Mohan Sinha
28 Jun 2026, 05:31 GMT+10

Hong Kong police have arrested two bookshop owners who are suspected of displaying and selling publications with “seditious” content.
The government said that during an operation in the Sham Shui Po district on June 24, the Hong Kong Police Force detained the two owners, a 33-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man.
In 2020, Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong after often-violent anti-government protests the year before.

BEIJING, China: Hong Kong police have arrested two bookshop owners who are suspected of displaying and selling publications with "seditious" content, according to a government statement released on June 25.

The statement did not reveal the names of the two people or the bookshop. They were arrested on June 24.

The government said that during an operation in the Sham Shui Po district on June 24, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force detained the two owners, a 33-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man.

Police investigations found that the two were suspected of selling publications, including materials that encourage hatred against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies.

The statement also said that the two arrested individuals are suspected of receiving multiple payments that were funded by foreign political organizations.

Police officers seized several "seditious" items, books, and documents related to the case from their shop and home.

The arrests happened one week before the July 1 anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Chinese rule in 1997. Under Hong Kong's Basic Law, the city is promised a high level of freedom for 50 years, including freedom of the press.

In 2020, Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong after often-violent anti-government protests the year before. This led to international criticism, with many saying that the freedoms promised to Hong Kong at the time of the handover are gradually disappearing.