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Hong Kong bookseller disappearancesi

Five Hong Kong-based book publishers linked to the company Mighty Current went missing in 2015. They eventually turned up in the custody of mainland Chinese authorities. The circumstances surrounding their disappearances have raised questions about the safety of Hongkongers who speak out against Beijing.

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In Hong Kong, residents are worried about Beijing’s attempts to tighten its grip on the city, while central government officials are more concerned with losing control, says Wang Xiangwei.

Yonden Lhatoo advises those quick to ape the US president’s favourite refrain to get their facts straight and make sure their own houses are in order first – lest they embarrass themselves

  • Anna Lindstedt was accused of attending an unauthorised meeting last year to get the Chinese-Swedish publisher freed from custody in China
  • This is the first time since the 18th century that an ambassador has faced trial in Sweden
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Lindstedt faces up to two years in prison if she is convicted of brokering an unauthorised meeting last year to negotiate the release of the dissident.

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The Swedish national was given a 10-year prison term for ‘providing intelligence to overseas entities’, though Beijing provided no specifics about the charge.

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Five years after he ‘disappeared’ in Thailand, the Hong Kong-based Swedish citizen is found guilty of ‘illegally providing intelligence for overseas entities’.

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Gui Chongyou tells state broadcaster that critics are like an ultra lightweight boxer trying to pick a fight with someone twice his size, who is then left with no choice but to respond

Hongkongers have expressed their desire for democracy in peaceful marches and at the ballot box over decades. Their desire for a different political system from the one in mainland China does not make them less Chinese.

The greater the official fuss over gossipy books, the more people are likely to believe that there is truth to the fiction. Cut the fuss, let Gui Minhai go, and no one will believe his books.

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