Yesterday, Oct 17, 2018, marked 3 years since Swedish citizen, publisher, writer, and poet Gui Minhai was kidnapped from Thailand by Chinese agents, on Oct 17, 2015, and imprisoned by China. He remains imprisoned there, and his circumstances unknown.
A new rally was held Oct 17 outside the Chinese embassy in Stockholm, with the support from Sweden’s Publishers Assn., Sweden’s Journalists Assn., and Swedish PEN and Sweden’s Writers’ Assn.
A Chinese language report on the rally: https://hk.news.appledaily.com/international/daily/article/20181018/20524560
Swedish Radio made a report in English, on the rally: https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7069515
As mentioned in the report, China’s intimidation campaign against people speaking up for Gui Minhai continues unabated: This includes the embassy writing to politicians like Left Party leader J. Sjöstedt, who got a threatening letter from the embassy the same morning, scolding him for talking about Gui Minhai, China and human rights, and then he went to the rally at noon! Listen to his interview in English in the segment above.
Also, in Swedish:
— the chairman of the Swedish Parliament’s cultural committee issued a strongly worded demand for Gui Minhai’s freedom: http://news.cision.com/se/liberalerna/r/nylander–l—gui-minhai-ska-slappas-fri–regeringen-borde-gjort-mer-,c2646636
(earlier, in May, the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee unanimously demanded Gui’s freedom. These high level demands, including those by our Government directly, are usually ignored in the Chinese embassy’s awkward propaganda efforts, which typically target media, and individuals).
— the deputy chair of Sweden’s journalists’ assn. wrote a public personal letter to Gui Minhai: https://www.journalisten.se/debatt/brev-till-gui-minhai
— Karin Olsson on Gui Minhai and Sweden’s strong tradition of freedom of publishing: https://www.expressen.se/kultur/karin-olsson/tre-langa-ar-sedan-kinas-kidnappning/
— an article by myself and Kurdo Baksi argues our new government should mobilize the King, to demand China releases Gui Minhai: https://www.expressen.se/debatt/gui-minhai-maste-slappas-anvand-kungen-mot-kina/
— another piece by Kurdo Baksi and Lars Ellström rebuts the Chinese embassy’s recent public propaganda campaign against Sweden: https://www.svd.se/sverige-under-attack–peking-vill-fa-oss-pa-kna
… on which see, in English, David Bandurski excellent piece on the new Chinese “porcelain-busting” diplomatic style in Sweden and in Europe:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/17/china-new-diplomacy-broken-porcelain-sweden
+ Worrisome: Anonymous Chinese-styled threats to HK-based British journalists and activists sent to their UK homes, partly similar to the Chinese embassy’s campaign in Sweden (or, something like the Skripal affair: “We know where you live”): https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/10/chinese-threats-to-uk-homes/
+ VERY exciting: An RTHK docudrama based on the riveting story of the return to Hong Kong of Gui Minhai’s colleague, bookseller Lam Wing-kee who was also abducted (in Shenzhen), is forthcoming soon:
Lam Wing-kee is, of course, one of the top witnesses to the kidnapping and torture proceedings deployed by the Chinese regime in all the forced confessions in China.
One hopes this RTHK station docudrama is put online, or made available for purchase, for broadcasting in every country!
Finally, the best updated story is the September book by Jojje Olsson, “Gui Minhai – imprisoned, humiliated and discredited”.
Excerpt and free download available here, in English: https://www.expressen.se/kultur/ide/-gui-minhai-imprisoned-humiliated-and-discredited/
Also, I keep a running list of all reports and information on Gui Minhai’s case–available on request.
–Sincerely,
Magnus Fiskesjö, nf42@cornell.edu