Former Hong Kong bookstore begins new chapter in upstate New York

From 2021 to 2022, Hong Kong experienced its biggest population drop since record-keeping began more than 60 years ago. Tens of thousands left because of strict COVID-19 policies and a crackdown on civil liberties by Beijing. Special correspondent Christopher Booker spent time with an American couple part of this exodus and reports on their journey for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.

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Geoff Bennett: Two years ago, Hong Kong saw its biggest annual population drop since its record-keeping started. Tens of thousands of residents left the Asian financial hub because of its strict COVID-19 policies and a crackdown on civil liberties by Beijing.

Special correspondent Christopher Booker spent some time in New York’s Finger Lakes district with one American couple who were part of this exodus. His report is part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

On the Main Street of Honeoye Falls Village sits an unlikely transplant, Bleak House Books, inside, memories of its first life a continent away.

This is the layout of the old store?

Albert Wan, Co-Owner, Bleak House Books: Yes. That’s where I used to sit to do my work. So it says, “Ye olde bookseller’s grumpy table.”

(Laughter)

Christopher Booker: From the mural overhead to the art on the walls, owners Albert Wan and Jenny Smith pay tribute to the independent book store’s original Hong Kong location.

Jenny Smith, Co-Owner, Bleak House Books: We tried to bring a little bit of Hong Kong with us. We didn’t want to leave.

Albert Wan: It’s an extension of our home and it’s a sign of respect, all the people who have supported our old bookshop.

Christopher Booker: Bleak House Books’ journey began in 2016, when the couple said goodbye to their home in Atlanta.

Smith, a historian, had a job waiting for her at a Hong Kong university, and Wan, a former attorney, decided to change careers.

Albert Wan: The goal is just to have a viable business as a bookshop and serve and grow a community of readers.

Christopher Booker: The store’s name, Bleak House Books, comes from a Charles dickens novel of the same title about a long-running court case and is a reminder, Wan says, of the legal career he left behind.

Once he had a name, Wan had to find a space for his new business in Hong Kong’s notoriously cramped and expensive real estate market.

Albert Wan: We ended up renting a 800-square-feet space in an office building on the 27th floor in a semi-industrial area.

Christopher Booker: Business in the out-of-the-way spot was slow at first.

Albert Wan: Our bookshop socialized in English-language books. It’s pretty niche in Hong Kong. I felt like it was a market that we had to cultivate and develop.

Christopher Booker: Word of Bleak House Books began to spread on Facebook and Instagram and the little shop on the 27th floor developed a loyal following, including writer and editor Tammy Ho Lai-Ming.

Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, Poet: When you walk into the bookshop, you will see books old and new. You will always find something that you did not expect to find.

Christopher Booker: Ho says the store became the perfect venue for her literary journal’s readings and talks.

Tammy Ho Lai-Ming: It’s really an unusual place and space in Hong Kong, where so many different writers can meet and readers as well.

Christopher Booker: But as the store’s community was growing, so too was Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong. Through economic and political pressure, the Chinese Communist Party was stepping up efforts to erode the city’s civil liberties.

When did you first notice the change?

Albert Wan: I think it happened gradually. It was never like a turning point.

Christopher Booker: Before a talk commemorating Liu Xiaobo, a writer and prominent critic of one-party rule in China, Wan was warned that it may put him and his family in danger.

Albert Wan: I never envisioned that I would have to deal with that sort of feedback or commentary just for having an event at a bookshop for a very well-known writer.

Christopher Booker: In 2019, political tensions erupted. Hong Kong’s government introduced a law that would allow it to extradite Hong Kongers to mainland China, sparking off the largest demonstrations in the city’s history.

Bleak House Books Bleak House Books became known for its support of Hong Kong’s democracy movement.

Jenny Smith: It was an amazing way to connect with the readers who came in. It was meaningful to be a part of that.

Christopher Booker: Then came the pandemic and a Chinese national security law, which ushered in an unprecedented crackdown on free speech, the free press and free association.

But through the upheaval, Bleak House Books stayed open. It was one of a few places in Hong Kong that continued to sell books that were considered politically sensitive.

Albert Wan: For example, this protest book, documents of protest, you wouldn’t be able to buy it in Hong Kong.

Christopher Booker: In the summer of 2021, even though their store was doing better than ever, Wan and Smith began to reassess their future.

Jenny Smith: I was like, look, they’re not cracking down on bookshops now, but they are cracking down on these free-wheeling newspapers and things like that. Freedom of the press is not going to be the same thing from here on out. And bookstores will come.

I mean, they might not be next, but they will be soon.

Christopher Booker: That fall, they made the difficult decision to leave Hong Kong.

Albert Wan: It wouldn’t help the kids if I ended up getting arrested.

Christopher Booker: Did you feel like you were letting people down by closing?

Albert Wan: It was really a matter of priorities. I mean, our family comes first, so…

Christopher Booker: The couple eventually moved their family to New York’s Finger Lakes district.

Was the idea when you got here, we’re going to open up a 2.0?

Jenny Smith: Yes.

Albert Wan: Yes. Yes.

Jenny Smith: There was never any doubt.

Albert Wan: It was something we had to do. It just felt like, if we didn’t try to reopen, it would be like they had won.

Christopher Booker: So, Wan and Smith renovated this long empty shop front, and Bleak House Books reopened its doors last June.

While business can often be quiet, the store has brought new life to downtown Honeoye Falls, which was decimated by the pandemic. The day we visited, Evan Verbanic drove 45 minutes to pick up a book he’d ordered through the store.

Albert Wan: Thank you.

Christopher Booker: What do you get from an independent bookstore?

Evan Verbanic, Customer: This is a cultural and community asset. I can’t claim to be a knowledgeable citizen without supporting this kind of business.

Christopher Booker: As Bleak House Books slowly grows a new community, Hong Kong and its people remain central to the store’s mission.

Jenny Smith: We’re part of a diaspora now of people who are trying to make a difference from outside the country.

Christopher Booker: Do you see a world where books help to provide an antidote to those forces?

Jenny Smith: Books matter. If they aren’t important, then it’s — there’s no point in censoring them, right?

Christopher Booker: While it’s now almost 8,000 miles away from where it started, that’s a belief Bleak House Books continues to embody in its second chapter.

For the PBS “News Hour,” I’m Christopher Booker in Honeoye Falls, New York.