Gui Minhai
[6][7] The Chinese government had been silent about holding him in custody for three months, at which point a controversial video confession was broadcast on mainland media.
[18] Although Gui was released from detention in October 2017, he was once again abducted by suspected state security agents – a group of men in plain clothes – in January 2018 while on his way to Beijing for a medical visit.
[19] Shortly afterwards, while under detention for breaking unspecified laws, he once again confessed, denouncing Swedish politicians for instigating him to leave the country and for "using me as chess piece".
[20] Gui Minhai is still under detention in China as of December 2019,[21] and was sentenced in February 2020 to 10 years' imprisonment for "illegally providing intelligence overseas".
“In his books there is a lot of guessing also about political gossip rather than actual fact.” Born in Ningbo in 1964, Gui graduated from Peking University with a bachelor's degree in history in 1985.
[1][24] Gui served as editor to the People's Education Press until 1988, when he departed for Sweden, and enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Gothenburg.
[24] Gui returned to Ningbo, China in 1999 and created a subsidiary for a Swedish company known in Chinese as Tangyou (唐友), offering air purification products.
[30] One of Gui's books, The General Secretary's Eight Love Stories, asserts that Xi Jinping has "had a number of affairs, including one with a television presenter".
When Bo was caught in the political fallout from the Wang Lijun incident in 2013, Gui reaped a financial benefit of HK$10 million from the surge in book sales.
[5] Gui was captured on closed circuit TV leaving his apartment in Pattaya, Thailand on 17 October 2015, apparently taken away by an unknown man.
[36] He was the second bookseller associated with Causeway Bay Books to apparently vanish without trace: Lui Bo had last been seen near his home in Shenzhen on 14 October 2015; three others would also disappear in the weeks that followed.
[30] Xinhua News Agency published an article on 17 January 2016 stating that an individual by the name of Gui Minhai had been detained relating to a fatal traffic accident in December 2003 in which a schoolgirl died.
[8][10] Contrary to Xinhua's claims, news reports from 2004 about the court proceedings from the traffic accident did not suggest Gui intended to abscond, instead he expressed a willingness to assume "full responsibility" in the form of economic compensation.
[6] Reporters Without Borders condemned China's forced confessions, and urged the EU to sanction CCTV and Xinhua for "knowingly peddling lies and statements presumably obtained under duress".
[50] Lee Bo's letter to his wife on 17 January said that he had voluntarily gone to the mainland to assist Chinese law enforcement in an investigation that involved Gui.
[12][13] The president of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Jasper Tsang, said: "the China Central Television (CCTV) report [and broadcast of Gui Minghau's confession] did not seem to be able to calm the public.
[14] Human Rights Watch was quoted as saying: "Given that Gui has been held nearly three months incommunicado, in a secret location, and without a lawyer, his confession on state-controlled TV lacks credibility".
[16][17] Amnesty International's China researcher cast doubt on the narrative, asking: "Why would four other employees of a company need to go missing in order to assist with a regular criminal case?
"[52] The Guardian drew a connection to Operation Fox Hunt, a Chinese government campaign launched by Xi Jinping in 2014 to repatriate corrupt officials or opponents of the regime who had fled abroad, and which may also have been responsible for the abduction of the other missing booksellers.
[18] Also in early February, the European Parliament issued a statement asking for Gui, Lee Bo, and their three colleagues at Causeway Bay Books to be released immediately.
[57] In September, Angela spoke before the United Nations Human Rights Council, and also made an emotional plea on behalf of her father on Swedish television, an appearance which prompted another public statement by Wallström on the detention.
[59][60] One colleague, Lam Wing-kee, gave an interview that received significant media coverage in which he spoke in great detail about his abduction and his months in detention by mainland law enforcement in Ningbo and subsequently Shaoguan.
[61] In June 2017, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven talked to Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a state visit about the case of Gui Minhai.
[19] In early February, Gui again appeared in a confession before reporters from pro-establishment news outlets including the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong.
He said that Sweden had sensationalised his case and tricked him into an unsuccessful attempt to leave China using a medical appointment at the Swedish embassy in Beijing as a pretext.
[65][66] In February 2019, Gui's daughter Angela made a blog post documenting a "very strange experience" involving Anna Lindstedt, Sweden's ambassador to China.
In it, she alleged that Lindstedt contacted her in mid-January and invited her to a meeting in Stockholm that she had set up with some Chinese businessmen who she thought could help secure her father's release.
[67][68][69] On 9 December, Lindstedt was charged by Swedish prosecutors for "arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power", with a possible maximum prison sentence of 2 years.
[22] Willy Lam, senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, said: "At a time of national emergency, when parts of China have fallen under virtual martial law, authorities think they can do whatever they want.
US State Department said: "We will continue to stand with our partners and allies to promote greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in China".
