Pro-Beijing lawmaker calls on Hong Kong chief executive to demand answers from mainland China over missing booksellers
James Tien and other lawmakers urge Leung Chun-ying to go to Beijing to find out what is being done to investigate the case of five missing booksellers
The mysterious disapperance of a Hong Kong bookseller was the focus of a meeting on Thursday between Leung Chun-ying and the legislature, with a pro-Beijing lawmaker calling on the city’s top official to directly seek answers from central authorities.
Bookseller Lee Bo was the topic of discussion at a Legislative Council meeting with Leung. Pro-establishment lawmaker James Tien Pei-chun, who had been critical of Leung’s governance, urged the chief executive to visit Beijing and seek answers from state leaders directly.
Pan-democrat lawmakers also questioned why the government’s stance on the incident was omitted from Leung’s policy speech on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Police probe identities of people leaving building with missing Hong Kong bookseller
“Hong Kong people are worried whether the central government’s ‘one country, two systems’ and ‘high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong’ principles has changed … Would you go to Beijing to ask the top leaders for answers?” Tien asked.
But Leung dropped a strong hint that he would not do so, saying “I will do whatever is feasible and effective to solve this issue”. Leung also reiterated that the government has been seeking information from different mainland authorities.
Lee disappeared in Hong Kong in December, and it was believed that the disappearance was related to his business of selling books that touched on political scandals and taboos in Beijing.
Those books were banned in the mainland but were popular with mainland tourists visiting the city. Since October, four of Lee’s associates also disappeared either in Thailand or the mainland.
