Lam Wing-kee: CCP Behind Rival 'Causeway Bay Books'

Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who is in self-imposed exile in Taiwan, has accused the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) of registering a fake bookstore with the same name as his new shop ahead of its opening this weekend.

Speaking to Taiwan's Central News Agency, Lam said he had received a legal letter telling him not to use the name "Causeway Bay Books", as a "Causeway Bay Books Co Ltd" had been registered with New Taipei City authorities on March 3.

Lam's bookstore was registered with the Taipei City government on March 31.

According to public information on the website of Taiwan's Department of Commerce, the only representative listed under the filing for the rival bookstore is a "Jiang Dongzhan".

Public records on Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office reveal that someone had also registered the name "Causeway Bay Books Co Ltd" as a trademark on April 7.

The letter accused Lam of trademark infringement and unfair competition as both companies will be engaged in the same business.

Lam told the news agency that he believes someone from the Chinese Communist Party registered the name and opened a "fake bookstore" in Taiwan.

He said he has consulted lawyers in the meantime, and that his bookstore will open as scheduled on Saturday.

Lam was one of five publishers selling gossip-filled books on state leaders who vanished at the end of 2015, resurfacing in mainland custody and making televised confessions over their supposed crimes.

He fled to Taiwan in April last year citing fears he would be extradited to the mainland under the new laws Hong Kong was planning at the time, but which were shelved after the massive protests they sparked.

Lam's colleague from the original Causeway Bay bookstore, Gui Minhai, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the mainland in February for "illegally providing intelligence overseas".