A press freedom organization has urged Hong Kong authorities to release journalist and bookseller Leticia Wong Man-huen immediately. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) emphasized that publishing activities should not be seen as threats to national security. Wong was arrested on suspicion of selling seditious publications and receiving funds from foreign political organizations, as reported by CPJ.
The CPJ’s Asia-Pacific Director, Beh Lih Yi, criticized the arrest, highlighting that it signifies the extension of national security laws into Hong Kong’s publishing sector. Beh Lih Yi stressed that authorities should free Wong promptly and cease viewing publishing activities as security risks. Wong, a journalist and the owner of Hunter Bookstore, was apprehended by Hong Kong National Security Police along with a 32-year-old man, according to various media reports cited by CPJ.
The arrests of Wong and the bookstore owner occurred shortly before the sixth anniversary of the national security law’s enactment on June 30. The police accused them of displaying items with seditious intent and selling publications that incited hatred against Hong Kong’s government, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies. Additionally, they were charged with violating Section 25 of the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance for allegedly receiving remittances funded by foreign political organizations, as per CPJ’s information.
The CPJ highlighted that police confiscated items, including books, with alleged seditious content during the arrests. Among the seized items was a biography of former Apple Daily newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai titled “The Troublemaker.” Wong, a former political reporter for Sing Tao Daily, serves as the editor-in-chief of Status Quo, a magazine published by Hunter Bookstore. She has contributed articles to the publication, including an interview with singer and activist Denise Ho, who was arrested in a 2021 national security operation targeting the now-defunct Hong Kong online media outlet Stand News.
According to CPJ’s research, China is known as the “world’s worst jailer of journalists,” with over 50 journalists currently imprisoned. Wong’s arrest has brought the total number to 51, making her the ninth journalist detained in Hong Kong.
