A wave of solidarity has swept across Taiwanese social media, as citizens express outrage and defiance over the arrest of five Hong Kong booksellers. A simple T-shirt slogan, 'I am a bookstore employee', has gone viral, echoing the determination of those fighting to preserve the freedom to read in the face of growing censorship.
The arrests have sparked widespread concern for the future of Hong Kong's dwindling independent literary scene, with Taiwan's President, Lai Ching-te, weighing in on Facebook. He stated that 'Ideas and words should never be silenced by political pressure', while lawmakers and activists are using the hashtag #Iamabookselleremployee to express their support.
The incident marks the third time in recent months that individuals linked to independent bookstores in Hong Kong have been apprehended, fuelling fears about Beijing's tightening grip on Hong Kong. While authorities have not specified which books were considered seditious, reports suggest that Emily Feng’s 'Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China' may be among them.
As a result, an unprecedented surge in demand for the book has been reported across Taiwan, with Acropolis Publishing responding by ordering an emergency reprint of 10,000 additional copies. Sara Sung, a senior editor at Acropolis, described these purchases as 'a statement of democracy and freedom', with readers showing they 'will not be silenced or intimidated by censorship from China'.
Independent bookshops in Taipei have quickly sold out of Feng’s book, which previously saw little interest. Customers, like Wu Jia-xuan, who typically avoids China-related literature, noted that the arrests had piqued her curiosity. 'The fact that it had been banned only made [me] more curious,' she explained.
The crackdown in Hong Kong resonates deeply in Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to unify with China. Beijing's 2019 crackdown in Hong Kong is widely credited with galvanising DPP voters in past elections, making the issue a highly charged political one for Taiwanese politicians.