Missing HK bookseller returns from China

Three months after he disappeared from his home in Hong Kong, bookseller and publisher Lee Bo has returned from China, the Hong Kong government has said in a statement.

Lee was among five staffers at the Mighty Current publishing house, which specialises in gossipy books about the China leadership, who went missing in the last weeks and months of 2015.

Concerns over their welfare have been expressed by the International Publishers Association, the European and International Booksellers Federation, the Booksellers Association, Amnesty International and many others.

In January, Lee - widely believed to have been illegally kidnapped by mainland agents - was confirmed as being in China. He has now been questioned by Hong Kong immigration authorities on his return, Reuters reported.

"Because Lee Bo had not provided comprehensive information on how he crossed the border, at this stage he hasn't been arrested," the government statement said. Lee told police he hadn't been kidnapped, but had been assisted by unspecified "friends" in getting into China, it added.