Lee Po ‘involuntarily removed’ from Hong Kong to mainland China, says UK government
Bookseller’s disappearance a ‘serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong’
Britain has demanded from China’s leadership the “immediate return” of the “involuntarily removed” Lee Po to his hometown, calling the missing bookseller’s case a “serious breach” of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
The renewed diplomatic tension over Lee comes as the UK government expressed “serious concern” over the level of rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hongkongers, claiming they had come under “unprecedented pressure”.
READ MORE: Causeway Bay Books remains closed despite claim by Lee Po’s wife: four booksellers still missing, presumed detained
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond highlighted concerns about academic freedom and freedom of the press in the foreword of his latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, released on Friday.
The report comes amid warming relations between China and the UK in the wake of President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to London last year.
The UK became the first government involved in Lee’s case to suggest that Chinese agents were behind his disappearance in December.
Lee, a British citizen, is one of the owners of publishing house Mighty Current which runs Causeway Bay Books, specialising in publications detailing power struggles and scandals in the Communist Party.
READ MORE: Lee Po, the main actor in the mystery of the missing booksellers, and the five questions to be solved
