Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee dies aged 70

Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee dies aged 70Image source, ReutersImage caption, Bookseller Lam Wing-kee marches during a protest in Hong Kong to demand authorities scrap a proposed extradition bill with China. Photo: March 2019.ByJaroslav LukivPublished17 minutes agoHong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who defied China and fled to Taiwan, has died aged 70.Lam passed away at Mackay Memorial Hospital late in Taipei on Thursday after suffering from lung cancer, regional media said.He was one of several booksellers detained in 2015 after selling material critical of the political elite on China's mainland.He fled to Taiwan - which is seen by Beijing as a renegade province that must be reunited - in 2019 for fear he would be sent back to China under Hong Kong's proposed extradition bill.Taiwan's authorities said at the time that the reopening of Lam's Causeway Bay Books bookshop was a symbol of democracy and freedom on the island.China detains Hong Kong booksellersWitness HistoryListen on SoundsLam was taken to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei on Tuesday and later fell into a coma, reported the South China Morning Post citing local media. He died late on Thursday.In a post on Facebook, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te wrote that he was "deeply saddened" about Lam's death, sending condolences to his family and friends.Lam's life "bore witness to the value of freedom of expression, and to the fear and suffering inflicted by authoritarian repression."He chose not to remain silent. Instead, he reopened Causeway Bay Books in Taiwan, turning it into a place where friends from Hong Kong could gather, speak out and support one another," Taiwan's leader added.Last year, Lam told BBC Witness History: "Everyone has their own values. You can't go against your values, nor can you betray others. "If you believe something is right, you should continue to stick to it. It's not like you're harmi...