Five people connected to the Causeway Bay Books store have been reported missing in recent months. Photo: RTHK
Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau. File photo.
The chairwoman of the Democratic Party, Emily Lau, said on Sunday that the people of Hong Kong are extremely worried about the disappearance of five men connected to a bookshop which specialises in publications critical of the Communist Party, warning that the SAR government needs to do more to reassure the public.
Lau said the government must act quickly and decisively, making sure the mainland authorities are aware how concerned the Hong Kong people are about the incidents.
Speaking in his capacity as the chairman of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho said the apparent illegal renditions have sparked widespread concern that Beijing is now openly flouting the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
He said given the gravity of the incidents, the government should be telling the public much more than it has been.
However, DAB lawmaker Christopher Chung said people should be content to wait until the facts become clear. He said he believed the police would reveal the results of their investigation once it is complete.
Five people connected to Causeway Bay Books have been reported missing in the past few months, including the owner of the publishing house which owns the store. Speculation has been growing that they have been kidnapped and are being held on the mainland.
On Sunday, the Acting Secretary for Security, John Lee, said the police would be expanding the scope of their investigation into the fifth disappearance, that of 65-year-old Lee Bo, who was reportedly last seen in Chai Wan on Dec 30.
Meanwhile, a video of student activist Agnes Chow calling for more international media coverage on the disappearances has gone viral -- with hundreds of thousands of views on social media within hours of its posting.
The 19-year-old member of Scholarism said that if confirmed, the apparent abductions would prove Hong Kong is no longer a safe haven for free speech.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1233305-20160103.htm
