Note: For the most part (the first part, that is), the VOA report is based on
Veteran Hong Kong Publisher Reveals Mainland Chinese Agents Visited Him over Missing Bookseller Probe, South China Morning Post, Apr 8, 2016. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko ... land-chinese-agents
(a) Indeed, SCMP has not published Chinese version of this report.
(b) First and foremost, the VOA report is confusing because its author (the one with VOA) MISREADS the SCMP report -- big time. I read VOA report first, before the SCMP report. But I was confused after a few paragraphs of the VOA report, and elected to read the SCMP report instead.
(c) Here is the timeline according to SCMP, chronologically:
(i) Oct 24, 2015 Lau's wife was taken into custody and interrogated for 4 hours, the same day and city (in Guangdong) an employee (named Cheung Chi-ping 张志平) of Causeway Books vanished.
(ii) Trio from Guangdong public security visited Law in Hong Kong three times: late December, 2015, early January and mid-January, 2016.
(d) However the VOA report says, "刘达文证实，早先曾向外界透露、但没有点名的前哨杂志一名员工，去年10月24日在东莞一住所被公安强行带走，在没有出示任何法律文件情况下，被非法扣查4个小时的事件，涉及的其实就是他的妻子。同一天也有铜锣湾书店人员在广东失踪。"
Reading the VOA report, I did not know whose wife it was: Law's or that of an employee of the Frontline magazine 前哨杂志. The truth is NO employee of the Frontline magazine disappeared on Oct 24, 2016 or any other day. The SCMP report clearly states Cheung was one who was missing (in the pertinent day and location here).
(e) " 'I had kept it to myself for over 60 days * * *' said Lau. But when the three state security officers called on Lau's office in Tsuen Wan in late December after two-month silence, 'they pretended they knew nothing about my wife’s detention.' }
(i) The "two-month silence" followed the interrogation of Lau's wife in October.
(ii) English about "two-month silence."
(A) a silence/hush falls: "PHRASE MAINLY LITERARY used for saying that a group of people suddenly become quiet <A respectful hush fell over the crowd as she entered.>" www.macmillandictionary.com/us/d ... -silence-hush-falls
(B) observe a silence: "PHRASE to be silent for a particular time in order to show your respect for someone or something <A minute's silence was observed in his memory.>" www.macmillandictionary.com/us/d ... n/observe-a-silence
(C) deafening silence (idiom a silence or lack of response that reveals something significant, such as disapproval or a lack of enthusiasm" www.thefreedictionary.com/deafening+silence
(D) silence (n): "[countable, uncountable] a situation when nobody is speaking
<an embarrassed/awkward silence>
<a moment's stunned silence>
<There was a deafening silence (= one that is very noticeable).>
<a two-minute silence in honour of those who had died>" (brackets original) www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.c ... n/english/silence_1
(iii) Tsuen Wan 荃湾 (位于香港新界西南; 古称浅湾，据说因此地海湾水浅而得名; neither Chinese nor Cantonese nor English versions of Wikipedia says when the bay/cove changed the name; reclaimed and presently a town)
(iv) Finally, SCMP quoted Lau as saying "pretended," which the VOA overlooks.
(f) "The Post could not determine their positions within the state security apparatus."
This sentence suggests Law did supply the Posy with names of the trio.
(f) "Gui was a freelance writer and editor for Lau since 2006 before he left in 2012 to start Mighty Current with Lee Po."
Not "since" -- "after." I am talking about English again.