Hong Kong's Have a Nice Stay bookstore closes as crowds bid farewell

Hong Kong's independent bookstore Have a Nice Stay closed its doors on Sunday, August 30, drawing long queues of patrons who came to browse, chat, and say goodbye. The closure follows a police raid in July over alleged seditious books and the owners' cited financial struggles.

Lines of visitors snaked down the staircase in the Kowloon district, with only 20 people allowed inside the roughly 600-square-foot space at a time. The store, founded in 2022 by former Stand News journalists and media professionals, had become a notable venue for political and social titles often absent from mainstream retailers.

The independent bookstore sector in Hong Kong has shrunk significantly since the imposition of national security legislation in 2020. Many such shops had served as important community hubs, hosting talks and workshops that fostered civil society.

In a statement, the store said it no longer had the ability or courage to continue its mission of sharing diverse knowledge through books. It cited financial deficits over the past six months, uncertainty over its premises, and a broader economic outlook that made it increasingly difficult to carry on.

The store also pointed to unclear regulatory boundaries, noting that officials had not specified which books might be considered problematic, leaving booksellers unable to determine what could be deemed risky.

Earlier this year, police targeted three other bookstores accused of selling seditious publications, leading to several arrests. The most prominent case remains the 2015 disappearance of five people linked to Causeway Bay Books, who later appeared in mainland Chinese custody and made televised confessions.