HONG KONG – Over 4,000 people marched in Hong Kong on Saturday to protest against China’s detention of five booksellers whose shop published gossipy books about Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping.

The demonstration followed a march by 100 activists to China’s liaison office on Friday to protest against what they called the “cross-border abductions”. They said one bookseller was abducted to China from Hong Kong and another from Thailand.

The protesters’ account contradicts official statements that China’s law enforcement officials had done nothing illegal. The other booksellers were detained while in mainland China.

The arrest of the five men has prompted fears Beijing may be eroding the “one country, two systems” formula under which Hong Kong has been governed as a special administrative region since its return to China from British rule in 1997.

The protesters chanted “protect freedom of the press, freedom of publishing and freedom of speech” as they marched from the Causeway Bay Books shop to Beijing’s liaison office and demanded the release of Gui Minhai, a Swedish passport holder who is the only one of the five still in detention in China.

One freed bookseller, Lam Wing-kee, told reporters on Thursday he had been arrested in China and detained for more than eight months but his colleague Lee Bo, a British national, was abducted from Hong Kong by mainland Chinese authorities.

“Protesters admire how Lam Wing-kee, as an ordinary citizen, fought against the authority and exposed its lies. Many people told me they’re worried about the safety of Lam,” said Albert Ho, legislator of the Democratic Party, who organised the march.

Alvin Yeung, a legislator of the pro-democracy Civic Party, said the arrests challenged the “one country, two systems” rule, which guaranteed separate laws and freedoms in the former British colony not granted elsewhere in China for 50 years. “We did not see any commitment from the central (Beijing) government. We have seen absolutely nothing done by the Hong Kong government to ensure the safety of these booksellers,” he said.

Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury KC Chan told a radio program he did not think the incident would hurt investor confidence in the city.

All five men who went missing last year and later appeared in mainland Chinese custody worked at Causeway Bay Books.

Meanwhile, booksellers Lam and Lee have contradicted each other’s accounts of how Lee, the British national, had been arrested.

Lee said on Saturday he had never spoken to Lam about how he went to China and disputed other details Lam had given of his detention. “Only Lee Bo can speak for himself,” Lee said. Responding to that, Lam said: “Even though Lee Bo is in Hong Kong, he has lost his freedom due to fear.”

Beijing – The chief of a village that became a symbol of resistance against corruption has been arrested for allegedly accepting bribes, Chinese authorities said Saturday, as a large police operation moved in to head off dissent.

Lin Zulian was elected head of the Wukan village committee in 2012, after protests over land grabs led to rare concessions from the Communist Party and the ousting of local leaders.

But the regional office for public security said Saturday he had “used his power to elicit bribes” in a social media post.

A resident told AFP that a large number of police were present in the village Saturday, with vehicles parked along the streets and military police posted outside the local station.

“Lin was arrested because he was planning on protesting on Sunday with villagers from the county,” she said.

She said corruption accusations were “just an excuse to arrest him”.

“Since 2012 the government has promised to resolve the land problem but nothing has been done,” she added.

Aware that the arrest could spark further protests, the public security office called for villagers to “cooperate with judicial authorities and maintain hard-won social stability”.

“Do not let a law-breaking minority encourage you to commit radical acts,” it warned.

Dozens of police cars arrived on Friday night to arrest Lin, China’s respected Caixin magazine quoted villagers as saying.

Residents of the 13,000-strong fishing village in southern Guangdong province began protesting in 2011 in what was then seen as just another bout of social unrest in China, where land grabs have become a major source of discontent.

But when one of the protest leaders died in police custody, villagers took their demonstration a step further, barricading roads leading into Wukan and facing off with security forces for more than a week.

Then, unexpectedly, Communist Party authorities backed down and promised rare concessions, including pledges to investigate the land dispute and allow village polls to be held in an open manner – a first in Wukan.

Lin – who also led the protests and was provisionally appointed committee head after the incumbent was thrown out – was one of the successful contenders.