Lam Wing-kee, the Hong Kong bookseller who defied China by selling publications critical of Beijing, died Thursday in Taiwan at the age of 70. He had been battling lung cancer. Lam was taken to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei on Tuesday and later fell into a coma, according to local media reports.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te expressed deep sadness over Lam's death, sending condolences to his family and friends. "Lam's life bore witness to the value of freedom of expression, and to the fear and suffering inflicted by authoritarian repression," Lai wrote in a Facebook post. He added that Lam "chose not to remain silent" and reopened Causeway Bay Books in Taiwan, creating a gathering place for friends from Hong Kong to "speak out and support one another."
In a BBC interview last year, Lam stated, "Everyone has their own values. You can't go against your values, nor can you betray others. If you believe something is right, you should continue to stick to it. It's not like you're harming anyone. If everyone could do that, this would of course be a better place."
Lam gained international attention in 2015 when he was arrested during a visit to mainland China and detained for over 400 days. He was one of several booksellers and staff from Causeway Bay Books who disappeared and were later confirmed to have been detained by Chinese authorities. The crackdown targeted bookstores in Hong Kong that sold politically sensitive materials.
Lam later described a televised confession, which he said was broadcast on Chinese television, as staged and acted out to a script. His case amplified fears about China's increasing encroachment on freedoms in Hong Kong, a special administrative region since 1997. These fears contributed to the large-scale protests that occurred in Hong Kong in 2019.