Pong Yat-ming

Pong Yat-ming is the founder of Book Punch, an independent bookstore established in 2020 in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po district. He and three female employees were recently arrested for allegedly selling "seditious publications," specifically a biography of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, the imprisoned founder of Apple Daily. The arrests are newsworthy due to the increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the press in Hong Kong, particularly concerning publications critical of the Chinese government or supportive of pro-democracy figures like Jimmy Lai. The booksellers may be subject to a recently implemented law that compels "suspects" to disclose their private passwords. This incident highlights the ongoing crackdown on dissent and the erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong under the National Security Law, raising concerns about the future of independent bookstores and the availability of uncensored information.