Causeway Bay Books bookseller Lam Wing-kee dies in Taiwan

Lam Wing-kee, the Causeway Bay Books bookseller whose forced disappearance became one of the clearest warnings of Beijing’s reach into Hong Kong, died at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei at age 70 after a cancer relapse. Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and the Mainland Affairs Council offered condolences, with Lai saying Lam’s courage would not disappear.

Lam was one of five Causeway Bay Books staff members who vanished between October and December 2015. The others were Gui Minhai, Lui Bo, Cheung Chi-ping and Lee Bo. After about three months, it was confirmed that all five were in China and under the control of the authorities, and the bookstore was forced to close. The case sent a chill through Hong Kong’s publishing world and deepened fears that the promised protections under “one country, two systems” were being hollowed out.

Lam returned to Hong Kong on June 14, 2016, and two days later held a press conference that turned him into an international symbol of resistance. He said Chinese authorities detained him after he crossed into Shenzhen, blindfolded him and interrogated him for months. Lam said they wanted him to hand over customer information about banned books, a demand he refused. His account put a human face on the pressure facing publishers, booksellers and readers who dealt in politically sensitive titles.

He later left Hong Kong for Taiwan in 2019, citing fears of legal trouble and a proposed extradition bill that had triggered mass protests. In Taipei, he revived Causeway Bay Books after a crowdfunding campaign brought in NT$5.97 million from 2,900 donors, well above the original NT$2.8 million target. Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture recorded the Taipei opening on March 31, 2020. The shop first operated in Zhongshan District and was moved to Zhongzheng District in 2024.

In Taiwan, Lam remained a vocal supporter of democracy and freedom and often appeared at events organized by Hong Kongers. Focus Taiwan said he had been in poor health after a cancer recurrence last year and was admitted to Mackay Memorial Hospital on June 30. His death closes the life of a man whose testimony helped define an early and painful moment in Hong Kong’s political retreat.