A Hong Kong employee of a publishing firm known for producing books critical of the Chinese government has gone missing, his wife said today, following the earlier apparent disappearance of four colleagues.
It is the latest incident to fuel growing unease in Hong Kong at the erosion of freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, with fears that the five men may have been detained by Chinese authorities.
Lee Bo, the chief editor of a publisher which produces books on Chinese politics, was a colleague of the four others.
A source said Lee, 65, was last seen in Hong Kong on Wednesday at the publisher's warehouse, which he is in charge of.
Lee's wife Sophie Choi also said he was in Hong Kong Wednesday but went missing that night.
"I started looking for him when he didn't come home for dinner that night at around 7 pm," Choi told AFP.
"He called me that night at around 10 pm to tell me that everything was all right," Choi said.
But she said the number from which Li was calling her did not belong to him and originated from the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Choi said she reported the case to Hong Kong police today. Police said the incident had been listed as a "missing persons" case.
"It is a very difficult time for me... I'm not sure what has happened, these are not things that normal people know about," Choi said.
The source told AFP that Lee was last seen in the publisher's warehouse in Hong Kong at 5pm on December 30th.
"Apparently he met somebody and subsequently disappeared. This is very shocking if it is true."
Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a "One Country, Two Systems" arrangement. It enjoys liberties not seen on the mainland, including freedom of the press and publication, but there are fears these are under threat.
