Independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay has announced its closure, citing financial difficulties and “unclear red lines” that make it hard to determine which titles can legally be circulated in Hong Kong.
The Mong Kok bookshop, founded in 2022 by former journalists, said in a social media post on Tuesday morning that August 30 will be its last day.
“To be frank, over the past six months, we have faced the challenge of running a deficit. There were also times when we just managed to scrape by,” the post, written in Chinese, read.
“Looking at the broader economic situation in Hong Kong, we cannot help but take a pessimistic view: it is going to be incredibly difficult to keep going.”
The four-year-old bookstore also cited “unclear red lines” surrounding which books can and cannot be legally distributed in Hong Kong.
The announcement of Have a Nice Stay’s closure came after operators of two other independent bookshops were arrested by national security police earlier this year.
In March, the founder of independent bookstore Book Punch and three of its staff members were arrested on suspicion of selling seditious titles, including a biography of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
Then, in June, Letitia Wong – owner of Hunter Bookstore – was arrested for allegedly displaying and selling “seditious” titles and “receiving multiple remittances from foreign political organisations.” His husband was apprehended on suspicion of committing the same offence.
Have a Nice Stay’s post stated that the owners “cannot possibly read every single book,” let alone determine which ones are ‘problematic.’”
Authorities have declined to publicise a list of banned books.
Crackdown on independent bookstores
Founded by in 2022 by former journalists, including some who worked at Stand News before it shut down under the pressure of the national security law six months before, Have a Nice Stay aimed to provide a space for community and promote journalistic values.
Kris Lau, a co-founder of the bookstore and an ex-Stand News reporter, told HKFP in 2022 that the idea for a bookstore arose among them partly from the desire to build on their experience as journalists and to create a place for people to gather.
“Because we were all reporters, we [thought we] could use some of our strengths to open a bookstore,” Lau says. “We know some people from the publishing industry and we write, we read, so maybe we have some sense [of how] to choose the books.”
Besides national security arrests, independent bookstores have also been subjected to other kinds of pressure, including frequent inspections from government departments.
In early July, local media reported that independent bookstores Elmbook and Luck Win Bookshop had been banned from participating in the annual Hong Kong Book Fair, run by the statutory body the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Elmbook, which was founded in 1997 and had been joining the book fair every year since its founding, announced last Thursday that it will close its physical store.
State-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po has accused the two bookstores of selling titles that promote Hong Kong independence.
Have a Nice Stay said in Tuesday’s post that “recent events might seem like the final straw, but the camel was already carrying far too heavy a load.”
“The social environment, uncertainties surrounding the building’s condition, finances, the personal growth of our team members, and their families and overall well-being – both physical and mental – have all compelled us to find the right time to bring things to an end,” the post read.
