China billionaire's disappearance from Hong Kong revives autonomy concerns

A statement of Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua is printed on the front page of local newspaper Ming Pao in Hong Kong, China February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The uncertain fate of Xiao Jianhua, a China-born billionaire who was last seen at a luxury Hong Kong hotel a week ago, has raised fresh fears about the city's autonomy amid media reports he may have been abducted by Chinese agents.

There are conflicting accounts of Xiao's whereabouts, but memories are fresh in Hong Kong of the abduction last year of five staff who worked for a local bookseller that published gossip on China's leaders.