Gui Minhai has been detained for:

This site is dedicated to raising awareness of the case of the Swedish publisher Gui Minhai, scholar and co-owner of Causeway Bay Bookstore, Hong Kong.

Gui Minhai was last seen on October 17, 2015, when he left his holiday apartment in Pattaya, Thailand. Since then he has been in detention in mainland China without legal assistance or consular access. Chinese authorities admitted to having detained Gui in January 2016, after state-controlled TV channel CCTV aired a forced confession video of him saying he had caused a traffic accident in 2003, and that he had returned to China voluntarily to turn himself in. Other than this, no information on his status or whereabouts has been given to his family nor to Swedish authorities.

In October-December 2015 four of Gui Minhai’s colleagues were abducted. Although all evidence points to his four colleagues being under strict surveillance, Gui is the only one of the five that remains in illegal detention on the Chinese mainland.

Timeline of events

2020

Oct 16

Försvunnen i 5 år – men aldrig bortglömd. Kräv rättvisa för poeten och bokförläggaren Gui Minhai! >>>

ONLY IN SWEDISH Den 17 oktober 2020 är det fem år sedan den svenske bokförläggaren och poeten Gui Minhai försvann från sin semesterbostad i Thailand. Gui har varken fått ha kontakt med sin familj eller sitt juridiska ombud sedan 2018. I februari 2020 meddelade kinesiska myndigheter att Gui Minhai dömts till 10 års fängelse, utan en chans till en rättvis rättegång. Gui Minhai står upp för frihet och yttrandefrihet. Ingen ska straffas för att de uttrycker sin åsikt! Medverkar i filmen gör Angela Gui (Gui Minhais dotter), poeterna Emil Jensen och Chala Hailu Abate, Amnestys styrelsemedlem Mehjar Azzouz samt Amnestyaktivisterna Sofia Hallqvist och Cathleen O’Keeffe. Dikten kommer från Gui Minhais diktsamling “Jag ritar en dörr på väggen med fingret” som skrivits från fängelset och kom ut våren 2020.

Sep 25

Vad kan vi göra för Gui Minhai? – Globala Torget Bokmässan Göteborg

ONLY IN SWEDISH Få har undgått att den svensk-kinesiska förläggare Gui Minhai suttit fängslad utan rättegång i Kina för att han har yttrat sina fria ord. Men, vad kan vi göra för att Gui Minhai ska släppas fri? Samtalet fokuserar på vad man kan göra rent aktivistiskt och medmänskligt. Men, vi lyfter även frågor som rör känslor kring otillräcklighet och misslyckanden. Medverkande: Frida Edman, Bokmässan, Kurdo Baksi, journalist och aktivist, Angela Gui, Gui Minhais dotter, Grethe Rottböll, Författarförbundet Moderator: Oskar Ekström, Bokmässan

Feb 25

China sentences Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison

China has sentenced Swedish citizen Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison for illegally providing intelligence abroad. He is one of the Hong Kong-based book publishers arrested in 2018 for selling books that were said to be critical of China’s political leadership. Following the verdict, Sweden demanded Chinese authorities to release its citizen. However, a court statement revealed that Chinese-born Gui had stated he will not appeal the sentence. He had also asked to have his Chinese citizenship reinstated.

2019

Nov 28

Augustgalan 2019: Eva Gedin håller tal till fängslade Gui Minhai

ONLY IN SWEDISH Eva Gedin, ordförande vid Förläggarföreningen, håller tal till fängslade Gui Minhai på Augustgalan 2019: “Du är inte övergiven. Vi är många här som står på din sida. Du hör oss kanske inte, men vi finns här”.

Nov 04

Sweden honours detained Gui Minhai with the Tucholsky Award despite Chinese threats >>>

The Swedish section of free speech organisation PEN International gave its Tucholsky Prize to the 55-year-old Gui, a Chinese-born Swedish citizen currently in detention at an unknown location in China.

Jun 13

Letter to Gui Minhai – written by his publisher colleague Eva Gedin >>>

Read the letter at Swedish PEN website.

2018

Feb 08

Third forced confession

Gui appeared in various media, giving a staged ‘interview’. He claimed to have been ‘used as a political chess piece’ by Swedish diplomats.

Jan 25

Hong Kong Booksellers: Gui Minhai reportedly abducted on holiday

Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai had been free for only three months before being reportedly kidnapped for a second time last weekend. As Britt Clennett reports, his disappearance while travelling in China, is adding to concerns over Beijing’s growing influence in Hong Kong.

Jan 20

Train abduction

In November 2017 Gui had sought medical care in Ningbo after having developed some neurological symptoms while in detention. He had been told to seek a second opinion by foreign specialists, so the Swedish embassy in Beijing had arranged for Gui to travel there by train to be examined by a Swedish doctor. Gui was travelling accompanied by two senior Swedish diplomats when the journey was intercepted and a group of ten plainclothes police seized him and carried him off the train. Chinese officials claimed that Gui was now under investigation for illegal business operations, trafficking in state secrets, and ‘illegally spending time with foreign diplomats’. There has been no trial date and no detention notice.

2017

Oct 23

Residential surveillance

Gui phoned his daughter Angela claiming he was now free and had chosen to remain in China for the foreseeable future. He said he had rented an apartment in Ningbo (Zhejiang province) and was able to see his family there. Over the next three months, Gui was in frequent contact with his daughter. From these conversations it emerged that he was not in fact ‘free’, but held in a type of residential surveillance, unable to leave China.

Oct 17

’Release’ from detention

Swedish diplomats were told that Gui was to be released after having served two years for the alleged traffic incident (despite no trial having taken place). However when senior diplomats went to assist him upon his release they were told Gui had already left.

Jul 12

Angela Gui in Swedish Radio – Sommar i P1 >>>

ONLY IN SWEDISH Angela Gui – DOKTORAND. Hon är student i England när hon får ett mail från en kollega till hennes far. Där står att pappan är försvunnen ”for political reasons”. Angela är då snart 21 och inser att hon står inför ett val. Hon måste bli en ofrivillig aktivist och försöka få sin pappa fri. Det är ett år och en månad sedan Angela Gui hörde nåt från sin pappa. Han är ännu inte dömd. Men det hon vet är att han är i fängslad någonstans i Kina. Anklagad för ett trafikbrott eller om det nu även var för att han smugglat in böcker. Det är ännu oklart. Det som är klart är att tiden går och att tystnaden växer. I oktober 2015 kidnappas Gui Minhai från sin semesterbostad i Thailand. Det här är Angela Guis berättelse om hur hennes liv totalt förändrats sedan hon läste brevet den där morgonen i sitt studentrum: ”Tidningar skriver att jag blivit en aktivist, jaha, men det är väl det jag blivit nu då” Om Angela Gui Dotter till den svenske förläggaren Gui Minhai som kidnappades i Thailand i slutet av 2015 och nu hålls fängslad i Kina anklagad för att ha sålt förbjudna böcker. Har sedan pappans försvinnande kämpat för hans frigivning. Har vittnat om fallet i den amerikanska kongressen och inför FN:s människorättsråd. Skrivit debattartiklar i svensk och utländsk press och framträtt på bokmässan i Göteborg och Frankfurt. Doktorerar i historia på University of Cambridge.

2016

Oct 18

Angela Gui’s Fight – an interview in Australian SBS

Sep 27

Second consular visit

Swedish consular officials are allowed to meet with Gui again. He still claims not to want any help.

Jun 18

Lam leads a demonstration

Lam leads a demonstration of six thousand people from Causeway Bay to Beijing’s liaison office.

Jun 16

Lam Wing-kee holds a press conference

Lam Wing-kee holds a press conference where he tells the media of his abduction from Shenzhen on October 24. Lam says he was blindfolded and put on a train to Ningbo where he was held in solitary confinement. He also reveals that his appearance on TV was staged and that he was given a script to read from.

Jun 13

Lam returns to Hong Kong

Lam returns to Hong Kong and cancels his missing person’s report with the police, making Gui the only one of the five booksellers that has not yet been “released”.

Jun 06

Gui calls his daughter again

Gui calls his daughter again. This time he tells her he is being treated well and asks detailed questions about the congressional hearing.

May 24

Angela Gui testifies at a US congressional hearing in Washington DC

Angela Gui testifies at a US congressional hearing in Washington DC. She wakes up to four missed calls from Gui Minhai on Skype.

Apr 08

Gui phones Angela again

Gui phones Angela again, telling her again not to give any interviews.

Mar 25

Gui phones his daughter Angela

Gui phones his daughter Angela, speaking English. He says he is not allowed to speak Swedish, but tells Angela he has committed crimes and will have to stay in China to sort out his “complicated situation”. He also tells her not to give any further interviews or ask for any help from authorities, as this will make matters worse for him.

Mar 24

Lee returns to Hong Kong and denies that he was kidnapped

Lee returns to Hong Kong and denies that he was kidnapped. He also said that he would never publish “banned books” again, and that during his time in mainland China, he was impressed by its economic prosperity.

Mar 06

Cheung returns to Hong Kong

Like Lui, Cheung returns to Hong Kong, tells police to drop his case, and then travels back to the mainland.

Mar 04

Lui returns to Hong Kong

Lui returns to Hong Kong and tells the police to drop the case on his disappearance, and then travels back to mainland China.

Feb 29

Phoenix TV airs an “interview” with Lee Bo

Phoenix TV airs an “interview” with Lee Bo in which he claims to have sneaked into the mainland to assist with an investigation into Gui Minhai. (English subtitles)

Feb 24

Swedish consular officials are allowed to meet with Gui

Swedish consular officials are allowed to meet with Gui for the first time since his disappearance from Pattaya. Gui tells them he returned on his own, and that he does not want any help from Sweden, after which he gets up to leave. The Swedish embassy repeatedly requests further consular visits but these are denied with reference to Gui supposedly not wanting any help.

Feb 04

Guangdong police confirms custody of three men

Guangdong police confirms Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping, and Lam Wing-kee are in custody and are being investigated in mainland China. They also tell Hong Kong police that Lee Bo does not want to speak to them.

Jan 24

Leaked document reveals targeting of Mighty Current

Sunday Times reports that a leaked internal Chinese Communist Party document lists 14 Hong Kong publishing houses to be “exterminated”, where Mighty Current is mentioned.

Jan 18

The South China Morning Post >>>

The South China Morning Post reports that there is no record of Gui leaving Thailand. “Thai authorities investigating case of missing bookseller Gui Minhai after it emerges there is no record of him leaving Thailand”

Jan 17

Gui appears on Chinese state television

Gui appears on Chinese state television channel CCTV news, saying he voluntarily returned to China and turned himself in for absconding the conditions of a sentence for a drunk-driving incident in 2003. He says he does not want any outside help, as he “feels Chinese despite his Swedish citizenship”. After this, Lee Bo’s wife receives a letter from Lee Bo in which he calls Gui a “morally unacceptable person” with a “complicated history”. Hours after the forced confession is aired, Gui messages his daughter on Skype: “Hi,Angela, I am ok, Pls don’t worry for me. I have returned China by myself for solving some personal problems. If anybody ask about me, pls, keep silence, which is important for me.”