Case comes after controversy caused by the disappearance of five booksellers in Hong Kong in an apparent crackdown on the sale of works critical of China’s government
Jun Mai, [email protected]
Yuan Yulai is well known for this legal battles against government departments. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Yuan Yulai, 61, known for high-profile cases has he brought against government departments and ministries, filed the lawsuit in Zhejiang province on Monday.
READ MORE: At least 45,000 banned books were destroyed, says last person to work at Causeway Bay Books
Yuan had bought 14 books from a mainland-based online bookstore, which he found on the country’s biggest e-commerce platform Taobao, he said in an interview.
A government official in charge of publications, radio and culture and four policemen arrived at Yuan’s office in Ningbo in Zhejiang on Friday carrying his parcel of books. They said Yuan was suspected of “purchasing and storing illegal publications” and opened the parcel, despite Yuan’s protests. They then confiscated the volumes, according to Yuan.
The books, whose subjects ranged from North Korean defectors to Nazi Germany, did not include topics that usually result in a ban on the mainland, such as alleged details of government leaders’ person lives.
“My assistant found that six of the books were available at the national library. So there are illegal publications in the library, too?” asked Yuan.
Many similar books are also available at other mainland-based online bookstores.
The purchases did not break any criminal law or pose a threat to state security so law enforcement agencies had no right to breach his right to privacy in his mail, Yuan said in his filing to the court, quoting the country’s constitution.
Evidence collected through illegal means should also be declared null and void, he said, citing the country’s administrative procedure law.
The authorities routinely confiscate books published overseas, but filing lawsuits over the incidents is rare.
Yuan’s case comes amid an apparent crackdown on books published overseas and outside the mainland. Five Hong Kong publishers who sold politically sensitive books disappeared in Hong Kong and Thailand last October.
Two recently returned to Hong Kong. One of the five, Gui Minhai, has been accused of ordering his associates to deliver about 4,000 banned books across the border since October 2014.
READ MORE: Exclusive: Email reveals Lee Po feared Gui Minhai kidnapped by Chinese agents before he himself disappeared
Yuan is known for his cocky style and victories over government officials in sensitive cases ranging from the forced demolition of houses to land reclamation.
He is best remembered for cases involving the central government’s environmental ministry and the country’s top economic planner.
He is an outspoken critic of the government.
He used to have more than 20 million followers on his social media account, which he used to accuse many government departments of violating the law. His account was deleted last November.