Lam Woon-kwong says relations with the mainland ‘will be affected as long as the truth of the matter is not clarified’
OWEN.FUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Friday, 15 January, 2016, 9:49pm
UPDATED : Friday, 15 January, 2016, 10:14pm
Lam Woon-kwong gave the clearest comment yet from the government on the Lee Bo case Photo: AFP
The missing bookseller Lee Bo and his associates are most likely under detention, Executive Councillor Lam Woon-kwong told a local TV channel yesterday – the clearest statement from any official on the incident so far.
But as to why they had been detained and by whom, Lam said he was not sure.
Lee Bo, who runs Causeway Bay Books, which sells politically sensitive books banned on the mainland, was last seen in Hong Kong on December 30.
His disappearance came after his four other colleagues – Gui Minhai, Lui Por, Cheung Ji-ping and Lam Wing-kei – vanished separately in Thailand and the mainland in October.
“If there are indeed organisations responsible [for their disappearance], they should understand that relations between the Special Administrative Region and the mainland will be affected as long as the truth of the matter is not clarified.”
Lam added that if the incident was a result of mistakes in procedures, then the responsible party should confirm it.
Wang Zhenmin, legal affairs chief of Beijing’s liaison office, yesterday said his office was “very concerned” about Lee’s disappearance.
“The central government works in strict accordance with the Basic Law,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an academic conference at the University of Hong Kong.
He was the first mainland official to comment on Lee’s case.
Since Lee’s disappearance, pressure has been mounting on the SAR government to get to the bottom of what happened.
During a radio programme yesterday, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying reiterated that the government was seeking answers on Lee’s mysterious disappearance “from all levels” of mainland authorities.
But Leung refused to say if he had or would contact President Xi Jinping on the issue, saying only: “We have been talking to all levels in the central government. I attach a great deal of importance to this case.”
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1901721/missing-hong-kong-bookseller-lee-bo-probably-under-detention
