As Hongkongers demand an explanation for the mysterious disappearances of five booksellers, book retailer Page One has quietly pulled Beijing-banned titles from its shelves.
Earlier today, Apple Daily reported that the Singapore-owned chain was no longer selling books banned on the mainland, although they had been available until recently. Several of the books pulled were published by Mighty Current, where all five of the missing booksellers worked.
Apple Daily reporters found that books about former officials, like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, are still available in the Tsim Sha Tsui branch, but all banned books about politicians currently in office are no longer for sale.
When reporters from the SCMP posing as customers asked for a book titled “The Secret Deals Between Xi Jinping and Bo Xilai”, a sales associate reportedly said that the banned books were taken off shelves more than a month ago.
The employee reportedly said, “We were told to take all politically sensitive books off the shelves in late November. The manager did not tell us the reason, but said Page One would no longer sell banned books ever again.”
An employee for one of Page One’s six airport outlets reportedly failed to give a tourist an explanation for the books’ unavailability, but said that some of the Beijing-banned titles are still available at French-operated Relay, reports Apple Daily.
The books are reportedly very popular with tourists from the mainland, who buy them as souvenirs.
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