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Wynna Wong

An independent Hong Kong bookstore has shut its doors six weeks after a national security police raid, drawing long queues of customers on its final day following four years in business.
Readers wound down the dim staircase of a Prince Edward tenement building on Sunday afternoon, with some waiting up to 45 minutes to enter the third-floor bookstore, Have a Nice Stay.
The closure followed a mid-July operation by national security officers, who raided the shop alongside nearby Greenfield Bookstore over allegations of acts with seditious intent.
Five people were detained – three women aged 30 to 59 and two men aged 37 and 57 – including staff and co-founder Sum Wan-wah of Have a Nice Stay. They were later released on bail.


After remaining closed for six weeks, the bookshop reopened from Wednesday until Sunday to clear its remaining stock and bid farewell to readers.
Inside the cramped third-floor shop, customers browsed shelves of books on journalism, Hong Kong history and current affairs, while staff prepared to bring down the curtain on the four-year-old business at 9pm. Only cash was accepted.
“Every time one of these bookstores closes, Hong Kong has one fewer space like this,” said a shopper leaving with several books, who declined to be named.
“I came today because I wanted them to know that they are not closing because nobody wants what they offer. Just look at the queue.”
Another customer, who also requested anonymity, said the turnout showed readers still valued independent bookstores, even as such establishments found it increasingly difficult to survive.
Taking a more optimistic tone, another shopper, who had bought several titles including Below Victoria Peak: Hong Kong’s Cartographic Archives and Photographic Memories, said: “I’m sure as one closes, another like it can open in the future.”
Booksellers declined interview requests.

Have a Nice Stay was founded in 2022 by five former journalists after the media organisations they had worked for closed.
Its founders sought to promote journalism and reportage while providing a gathering place for people who had chosen to remain in Hong Kong amid a mass exodus during the Covid pandemic.
Announcing its closure in July, the bookstore said in social media posts that it had largely managed to break even during its four years of operation, but had suffered periods of financial deficit over the past six months.
It cited Hong Kong’s economic conditions, uncertainty over its building, the personal and family circumstances of team members and “elusive red lines”.
The shop said it lacked the capacity to read every book or determine which titles might be considered problematic, adding that it no longer had the “ability and courage” to fulfil its mission of spreading a broad range of knowledge.
It also referred to persistent complaints from “enthusiastic complainants”, “unidentified individuals” and people hiding behind anonymous letters.
The bookstore stressed that it had begun contemplating closure before the latest turmoil and that business difficulties, rather than “force majeure”, remained the bigger reason behind its decision.


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Hong Kong national security law (NSL)

Long queues mark final day as Hong Kong bookstore closes after raid

Have a nice stay bookstore shuts its door. Photo:  Dickson Lee

"Have aNice Stay" bookstore shuts its doors on Sunday. Photo: Dickson Lee

The closure followed a mid-July operation by national security officers. Photo: Dickson Lee

People visit "Have a Nice Stay" bookstore on its final day of business. Photo: Dickson Lee

"Have a Nice Stay" bookstore shuts its doors on Sunday. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong police arrest 5 over national security after raiding 2 bookstores

Have a Nice Stay had announced on Tuesday that would cease operations on August 30. Photo: Handout

Leticia Wong at Hunter’s Bookstore in June. Photo: Natalie Wong

Independent bookshop of 50 years to close after national security raid

Greenfield Book Store, located on Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mong Kok, has said it will close when its lease ends. Photo: Jelly Tse

A banner bearing the slogan “national security is everyone’s responsibility”. Photo: Jelly Tse

News

Hong Kong

Society

Have a Nice Stay’s closure follows mid-July operation by national security officers, who raided the shop over allegations of acts with seditious intent


Have a Nice Stay’s closure follows mid-July operation by national security officers, who raided the shop over allegations of acts with seditious intent.


China

Long queues mark final day as Hong Kong bookstore closes after raid

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Have a Nice Stay’s closure follows mid-July operation by national security officers, who raided the shop over allegations of acts with seditious intent

Have a Nice Stay’s closure follows mid-July operation by national security officers, who raided the shop over allegations of acts with seditious intent