One of the five missing booksellers, Swedish national Gui Minhai could have been arrested for circulating banned books from publishing house Mighty Current in China, a source told the SCMP.
The theory was put forward by New York-based author Liu Lu after Chinese authorities confirmed that three booksellers were being detained in China for “illegal activities on the mainland”.
The author, who has published four books under Gui’s publishing house, said the “illegal activities” referred to in the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department’s statement.
Lu said he had been told by “multiple sources” that Gui was operating an illicit circulation office in over the border in Shenzhen to distribute the banned books to mainland clients, which would be a violation of mainland Chinese law.
The Shandong native said Lee Bo, the fifth bookseller to disappear, was not involved with the circulation office. Lu could not confirm whether the other three staffers were linked to the alleged operation.
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