BEIJING (Reuters) - One of a group of missing Hong Kong booksellers specialising in publications critical of China is a British citizen, a British Embassy spokesman said in a statement, adding that Britain was deeply concerned by reports of disappearances and detentions.
Britain urgently requested Hong Kong and Chinese assistance in finding out where the British citizen was, the statement added. The statement came as British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visits China this week.
The disappearances have stoked fears in Hong Kong of mainland Chinese authorities using shadowy tactics that erode the "one country, two systems" formula under which the former British colony has been governed since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
(Reporting By Michael Martina, Writing By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Nick Macfie)