GUI Minhai was the first to disappear.
A Swedish citizen of Chinese birth, he went missing from a Thai holiday resort
in October.
The incident might have escaped notice outside of his family if not for the
fact that, one by one, his colleagues also began to mysteriously vanish.
Three more people linked to Mr Gui and his bookshop in Hong Kong disappeared
in the same week.
To date, five men have gone missing, sparking widespread conspiracy theories.
And one anonymous volunteer at the bookshop has chillingly said: “I feel
unsafe – I don’t know whether the next one will be me.”
The mystery has captured the imagination of the public, sparked protests and
even attracted the attention of the Anonymous hacker group.
Last week, the plot thickened as British citizen and publisher Lee Bo
disappeared.
And on Tuesday, a handwritten letter, reportedly written by him, was
published.
“I am very well. Everything is fine,” he wrote in the letter addressed to his
wife.
But a closer look at what’s really going on shows clearly everything is far
from fine.
Gui Minhai disappeared in October. He owns Mighty Current, a publishing
business with a controlling interest in a small but popular bookshop in Hong
Kong.
Tucked away between a pharmacy and a clothes shop, Causeway Bay Books is
notorious for its books that criticise China’s ruling party, with one even
predicting the demise of China’s president Xi Jinping.
Many of the books contain gossip about the private lives of China’s elite,
including Communist Party leaders, and are popular among mainland Chinese
tourists.
But after employees and stakeholders began one-by-one to disappear, the once
popular store now sits padlocked and closed.
Most theories surrounding the mystery suggest that Chinese government
operatives are behind the disappearances in an effort to censor the
bookstore.
At the time people began dropping off the face of the earth, the store was
planning to release a book about a former girlfriend of President Xi.
Mr Gui has contacted his family since disappearing, but they say they have no
idea where he is or why he is unreachable. His phone calls to the family are
diverted through foreign countries, according to the Guardian.
In the same week that Mr Gui vanished, three other men linked to the store
also disappeared.
They included the publishing house’s general manager Lui Bo, business manager
Cheung Jiping and store manager, Lam Wing-kei.
On December 30, Lee Bo joined the list of missing men after he failed to
return home from a visit to his warehouse in Hong Kong.
His wife told local media that he called to tell her he was “assisting with
investigations” on the day he disappeared.
She said the call came from the Chinese city of Shenzhen, despite the fact
that he didn’t take his mainland travel permit and there is no record of him
crossing the border.
The nervous tone of Lee in the phone calls led her to lodge a missing person’s
report, which has been rescinded after his letter was published.
“It might take a bit of time,” the message said. “My current situation is very
well. All is normal.”
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An anonymous friend of Lee who volunteers at the book store told reporters
that Lee’s “wife is on the brink of collapse.” He added he too was afraid
for his safety.
It has since emerged that Mr Lee is a British citizen and UK officials have
joined the chorus of those calling for answers.
“We have urgently inquired with both Hong Kong and mainland authorities,”
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said while on a visit to Beijing.
Swedish authorities have also made public statements saying they are taking
the matter “very seriously”.
For their part, Hong Kong police say they are trying to get to the bottom of
the mystery. “Police are doing their best to investigate the issue,” Hong
Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, said on Tuesday.
China, however, remains as tight lipped as ever.
Hong Kong is part of China, but operates mostly independently – with its own
legal and political systems. This is the first time that residents are
rumoured to have been abducted from Hong Kong by mainland agents, according
to The Economist, and if true the incident could spark a massive diplomatic
incident.
The book store case has sparked fury among citizens in Hong Kong, adding to
growing unease that freedoms in the city are being interfered with.
The Hong Kong division of hacker group Anonymous has also vowed to hack
Chinese government websites in retaliation for the kidnappings.
Amid protests and public demonstrations, Hong Kong’s chief executive Leung
Chun-ying called a press conference on Monday to address the growing unrest.
He said that he was “highly concerned” about the recent disappearances of
people associated with a publishing company but said there’s no evidence to
support suspicions that mainland security agents were involved.
Leung, who is viewed by some as a puppet for China, said there is “no
indication” the mainland was responsible.
“If mainland Chinese law enforcement personnel are carrying out duties in Hong
Kong, it would be unacceptable because it goes against the Basic Law,” he
said.
The mystery is still unexplained, and the five men remain missing. The
bookshop, it seems, is still closed.