People formed long lines waiting to enter the entrance of a small bookstore in the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong.
It was the final day of operation for the independent bookstore "Have a Nice Stay," founded by former journalists, and citizens gathered to witness the end of the bookstore.
Although it is a small space of just over 56 square meters, people feel an even greater sense of regret because it has served as an important communication channel for Hong Kong civil society, dealing with sensitive political and social issues and books on the Tiananmen Square protests that could not be found in large bookstores.
[Polly Lui / Bookstore Customer: Too many things have disappeared and will never return. My heart is heavy with a sense of loss.]
This closure was decisively caused by financial difficulties along with continuous pressure and crackdowns from authorities.
In front of the authorities' so-called "red line," which does not even let people know what is prohibited, the bookstore management surrendered, stating that they no longer have the ability or the courage to continue their mission of sharing knowledge.
[Sum Yuen-wa / Co-founder of "Have a Nice Stay": Thank you to everyone who has supported us. Please stay healthy. The "Have a Nice Stay" bookstore is closing its operations today.]
The suffering of independent bookstores has now become routine in Hong Kong.
Since the beginning of the year, a number of bookstores, including Book Punch, Hunter Bookstore, and Greenfield, have been raided and their staff arrested on charges of "selling seditious publications."
[Anson Tse / Bookstore Customer: The recent crackdown by authorities on bookstores is extremely unfair and unreasonable to both bookstore workers and book-loving citizens.]
Once the freest haven of knowledge in the Greater China region, an era in Hong Kong is drawing to a close like this.
(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae)
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