Transcript of Gui Minhai’s government-arranged interview: ‘Swedish government used me’

In a 20-minute media conference arranged by the Chinese government, Gui Minhai, the detained former Hong Kong publisher, warned the Swedish government that if it continued to use him to cause problems for Beijing, he would consider renouncing his Swedish citizenship.

Gui, a naturalised Swedish citizen who was born in mainland China, spoke with media outlets from Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan in a session arranged by China’s Ministry of Public Security. 

The South China Morning Post agreed to take part, provided no conditions were put on the questions it could ask, after being approached by the ministry on Wednesday. 

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Did you request this meeting, or did the Ministry of Public Security order you to do it because they wanted you to say certain things to the media?

Thank you everyone for coming here to interview me. I’m Gui Minhai. I know that Sweden has recently sensationalised things about me. I have already written a letter to Sweden’s ambassador to China, Anna Lindstedt. I have stated that I do not want Sweden to continue to sensationalise what has happened to me. But obviously, Sweden has not stopped doing so. I felt that it was necessary for me to come out and say something. I asked the public security authorities for a chance to meet the media in order to tell the public what has happened, and to tell the truth.