Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing‑kee dies aged 70
Lam Wing‑kee, once a frontline protester who marched for the scrapping of a Hong Kong extradition bill, has passed away at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei after a battle with lung cancer.
He was held in mainland China for more than 400 days following a 2015 raid on his Causeway Bay Books shop, which sold literature critical of the Chinese state. After the raid, he fled to Taiwan in 2019 to avoid being sent back under the new extradition law.
Launched in Taiwan, Lam’s bookshop became a living monument of democratic values, a space where exiled residents could meet, discuss and support one another. “Reopening the shop was a testament to the right to voice dissent,” he said in a last interview with the BBC.
His death was met with mourning from Taiwan’s President, who honored his dedication to freedom and his refusal to stay silent. The incident underscores the increasing pressure from China on Hong Kong’s political freedoms.
Lam’s story is a stark reminder of how authoritarian regimes use legal frameworks to stifle dissent and how individuals like him keep the flame of liberty alive even when displaced.
