Amid change and challenges, these Hong Kong bookshops persist

Lily Wang (right) chats with a customer at her shop which has copies of rare, signed, and first edition books. Photo: The New York Times/Lam Yik Fei

Hong Kong is a difficult place to run an independent bookshop.

Rents are high and space is limited, but navigating the law has also become harder in recent years. China imposed a strict national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, and the government has also begun enforcing a dormant, colonial-era sedition law.