Hong Kong's feisty publishing industry vowed to take on China by selling books critical of Beijing, despite the disappearances of five city booksellers, as a major annual book fair began Wednesday.

The booksellers, who went missing last year and resurfaced in the mainland, worked for a Hong Kong publishing house known for gossipy titles about China's political leaders.

One of the men is still detained and another, who skipped bail and is now in Hong Kong, has revealed how he was blindfolded and interrogated for months during his detention.

Some mainstream bookstores in Hong Kong removed works likely to offend mainland authorities from their shelves in the wake of the disappearances.

And while independent shop owners are still willing to stock the books, some have told AFP that salacious or critical titles about Beijing politics have dwindled as publishers have been scared off.

But on the first day of the book fair Wednesday, there was determination to keep fighting.

"As a publishing house, I personally think I should not worry... You lose if you start to worry," said Jimmy Pang, head of Hong Kong publisher Subculture.

Pang said he would not stop printing political books out of fear, but described the pressure on the Hong Kong industry as "white terror".

"If a book is suddenly banned, say after some mainland officials say it is, the whole line of production can get into trouble, from its writer, publisher, to the distributor and even readers. It can happen two or three years after the book is printed," Pang said.

One of Subculture's political authors, Lam Hong-ching, is promoting a book on self-determination for semi-autonomous Hong Kong, reflecting a growing desire among young campaigners for more distance from Beijing.

"People are worried. Some writers don't even write anymore. Some publishers don't dare to print," Lam told AFP.

"But it's even more important to write these books now, otherwise residents are not properly informed."

Lam says he fears for his own safety and has not renewed the permit held by Hong Kong residents which allows them to visit the mainland.

- Forbidden fruit -

The fair has always been a source of books that would be banned on the mainland, with many readers crossing the border to browse titles off limits at home.

Despite the pressures, there are still a number of booths this year selling works ranging from steamy tomes about the sex lives of Chinese leaders to literature advocating political rights in the face of Beijing.

One mainland visitor, who gave his name as Shu, said he had taken a holiday from his home in Shanghai so that he could read books unavailable in China.

"I want to read them here, but I won't bring them home. I'm worried to do so," the 46-year-old marketing consultant told AFP.

Shu said he wanted more liberal ideas to be heard and would be disappointed if Hong Kong stopped producing the books.

Bookshop owner Paul Tang says the demand from mainland readers is undented.

But he adds that the industry itself has undoubtedly been hit by the missing bookseller saga, with the supply to his shop of gossipy titles about Beijing politicians having been halved.

One publisher he knew emigrated in the wake of the disappearances and cut all contacts with his authors, says Tang, whose shop is not far from the Causeway Bay bookstore where the five booksellers sold their titles.

"(Some publishers) just raised their hands and said they would give up," he said.