Walking out of one of Hong Kong’s last remaining independent bookstores, hands behind her back but head held high, the woman’s T-shirt bore a slogan now destined for the annals of protest fashion: “I am a bookstore employee.” Escorted by police, she was among five people arrested during raids on two bookstores last week, suspected of displaying and selling publications with “seditious” content - a national security crime that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Since then, the phrase has spread across Taiwanese social media faster than a hot pot rumor, with booksellers, lawmakers, and activists sharing the hashtag “I am a bookstore employee.” Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, even weighed in on Facebook, declaring, “Ideas and words should never be silenced by political pressure.” It’s the third time in recent months that Hong Kong independent bookstore folks have felt the long arm of the law.

Hong Kong authorities haven’t specified which books were allegedly seditious this time, but security chief Chris Tang offered a culinary analogy: booksellers must ensure their books are lawful, “just like merchants selling food have to make sure their food won’t make people sick.” (Presumably, the books didn’t give anyone indigestion.) All five arrested have since been released on bail. The police declined further comment, but reports suggest the offending book may have been Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China, by NPR journalist Emily Feng. That revelation prompted a run on the book in Taiwan, with publisher Acropolis ordering an emergency reprint of 10,000 copies. Senior editor Sara Sung noted that some readers are buying copies as “a statement of democracy and freedom,” showing they “will not be silenced or intimidated by censorship from China.”

Taipei’s Touat Books owner Chang Hui-ju said she’s completely out of stock. “Before this, hardly anyone paid attention to it,” she admitted. Another store, Kuo’s Astral Bookshop, also sold out. Customer Wu Jia-xuan, who usually ignores China-related books, said the Hong Kong arrests piqued her curiosity: “The fact that it had been banned only made [me] more curious.” Feng’s book examines Xi Jinping’s ideological control, with a chapter on prominent Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2015, escaped, fled to Taiwan, and reopened his store in Taipei. Lam died earlier this month, and his Taipei shop now sits closed, covered with notes, flowers, and beer cans left by supporters. His story encapsulates the uneasy triangle between Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China, but Beijing claims it as territory and has suggested a “one country, two systems” framework - similar to Hong Kong - which over 80% of Taiwanese reject. Politicians from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have pointed to Hong Kong as a cautionary tale of Chinese rule. DPP legislator Wu Pei-yi accused China of “burning books” after the raids. But as National Taiwan University professor Lev Nachman notes, rhetorical support for Hong Kong is “very easy” for DPP politicians to use as a warning about what could happen to Taiwan, yet actual support has been “shallow.” For Chinese people, Taiwan remains the last place in the Chinese-speaking world where they can freely access books without party censorship. One student from Fujian province, who visited Touat Books looking for Feng’s book, said news of the raids kept her awake until 2am. “In mainland China, none of this would come up on your feed… It was quite a shock,” she said. “This shouldn’t be happening. I think independent thought should still be allowed - at least in Hong Kong.”