Hong Kong book lovers mourn store closure after constant complaints

Source: TODAY

HONG KONG -- In a quiet Hong Kong cul-de-sac, hundreds gathered over the weekend to say goodbye to an independent bookstore after weekly government inspections spurred by anonymous complaints forced it to put up the shutters.

Mount Zero said it would close at the end of March after constant complaints to authorities, which had accused it of illegally occupying government land by tiling a pavement in front of the store, with the threat of fines and jail time.

Since Hong Kong imposed a national security law in 2020 the city's cultural sector has been hit by censorship fears, and the handful of bookstores that remain say they are operating in an environment of increasing pressure.

"Authorities often say Hong Kong will go back to normal... (But) these things will haunt our lives," said political scientist Ivan Choy, who attended the gathering.

Hong Kong recently enacted a second national security law, which critics fear will further drive pro-democracy sentiments underground and chill cultural and artistic freedoms.

The city's government has rejected allegations the laws curtail freedom of expression.

But Mount Zero has lived through dramatic political change since its founding six years ago and book lovers mourned that the liberal-minded bookstore had seemingly become a victim of that shift.

Leo, a 20-year-old student who declined to give his last name, said he worried "the categories of books allowed for sale would be restricted", hurting other independent bookstores.