Transparency is the best way forward on Gui Minhai detention
The latest case relating to the Hong Kong-based bookseller is causing concern around the world and a full explanation would be welcomed from both parties involved
Consular assistance for those travelling or living abroad is a fundamental feature of diplomatic relations between nations. Where there is none, another nation’s embassy or consulate is usually nominated to offer help regarding the needs and rights under law of a foreign national.
A case in point is that of Hong Kong-based bookseller Gui Minhai, now back in detention on the mainland, which raises the issue of when you stop being a Chinese national.
Mainland-born Gui has long been a Swedish citizen. He disappeared while on holiday in Thailand in 2015 and later served a jail sentence over the border for a fatal drink-driving accident in 2003.
After his release pending a trial for illegal bookselling, he was recently snatched by mainland authorities while travelling by train to Beijing with two Swedish diplomats, reportedly for health checks.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said diplomats should not violate international or Chinese law, which appeared to suggest the Swedes had done so. Sweden’s foreign minister countered that Gui’s trip with the diplomats was “perfectly in line with basic international rules giving us the right to provide our citizens with consular support”.