Mourners Bid Farewell to Hong Kong Dissident Bookseller Lam Wing-kee
Hong Kong dissident bookseller Lam Wing-kee has been remembered in Taipei as a symbol of freedom and resistance to authoritarianism. Friends, supporters and members of Taiwan's Hong Kong community gathered at a memorial service to honor the founder of Causeway Bay Books, who died after battling lung cancer. Lam became internationally known after disappearing into Chinese detention in 2015 before later speaking out about his experience. He reopened Causeway Bay Books in Taipei following Hong Kong's 2019 anti-extradition protests, turning it into a gathering place for Hong Kong exiles.
Singing Amazing Grace in Cantonese... Hong Kongers in Taiwan say goodbye to bookseller Lam Wing-kee at a church in Taipei.
The dissident bookseller died on July 2nd in a hospital in Taipei after a battle with lung cancer, leaving behind his iconic Causeway Bay Books, which had found a new home in Taipei after the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition protests.
Hong Kongers living in Taipei came to mourn the shop owner who stood as a symbol of resistance and freedom in their community.
Like Hong, who first heard of Lam on the news in Hong Kong... but later got to know him after moving to Taiwan. He says Lam was an inspiration for many young Hong Kongers.
HONG, HONG KONGER IN TAIWAN (Taipei)
He told me to read more books.
He thinks that being brave is not enough. If you want to gain more, if you want to achieve your goals, we must have knowledge.
Lam’s bookstore was known for selling politically sensitive books. In 2015, he and several associates disappeared, after being detained by Chinese authorities.
He managed to get out of detention... and spoke out against the authorities, though several of his colleagues have still not reemerged.
In 2019, he brought Causeway Bay Books to Taipei, where it served as a safe space for other Hong Kong exiles... and became to many a symbol of democratic freedoms against authoritarian pressure.
At the memorial, many high-profile politicians came to pay their respects, including Premier Cho Jung-tai and Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng.
CHO JUNG-TAI, TAIWAN PREMIER (Taipei)
As President Lai said, Mr. Lam's passing brings sorrow, but the courage he left behind will not disappear.
Taiwan will remember a Hong Kong bookseller who, in the most ordinary yet steadfast way, told us how precious freedom is and reminded us that democracy requires generations and collective effort to safeguard it.
N̂G CHHUN-SENG, PASTOR, TAIWAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (Taipei)
Dictators can shut down a bookstore, confiscate a book, or even take a person’s life. But the truth lives on.
The Bible tells us that Jesus told his disciples, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free."
As Lam Wing-kee's story comes to a close... the truth he told will continue to live on in the people he inspired and the community he made in his home away from home... where his ashes will remain.
