China’s ambassador to Sweden summoned after he hit out at ‘smears’ in latest outburst against Beijing critics
- Gui Chongyou tells state broadcaster that media 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
- Diplomat is known for outspoken comments defending Beijing, including the case of detained Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai
Sweden’s government summoned the Chinese ambassador in Stockholm to discuss his comments on Saturday that compared Swedish media coverage of China to a lightweight boxer who “provokes a feud” with a heavyweight.
Gui Congyou, who has become well-known for his outspoken attacks, told the state broadcaster SVT that the “frequent vicious attacks on the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government by some Swedish media” were comparable to a 48kg light featherweight boxer taking on a fighter almost twice his size.
“The 86kg boxer, out of good will to protect the lightweight boxer, advises him to leave and mind his own business, but the latter refuses to listen, and even breaks into the home of the heavyweight boxer. What choice do you expect the heavyweight boxer to have?” Gui said.
In the January 8 interview Gui also compared some Swedish media and journalists to the petty-minded main character in the Chekhov short story Man in the Case, and said they sat in their offices while “trying to think of ways to slander China”, according to transcripts released by the embassy.
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“Some Swedish media and journalists always make groundless accusations and attacks on China, instigating confrontation, hatred and division between the two countries and peoples. It is hard to tell what their agenda is,” Gui said.
Gui also said the embassy would be justified in denying visas to journalists who did not want to visit China to “promote friendship, communication, understanding and cooperation”.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde on Saturday called the envoy’s statement an “unacceptable threat”.
Linde said she has summoned him to discuss the issue on Tuesday. “Freedom of speech prevails” in Sweden, and “what China’s ambassador now does is very serious,” she said.
He was one of the five Hong Kong booksellers who specialised in titles about the Chinese leadership who went missing and later reappeared in mainland China.
Gui was released in October 2017 but remained in the mainland before being detained again in 2018 while travelling to Beijing in the company of Swedish diplomats.
The Chinese embassy in Sweden has issued a number of forcefully worded statements about the case, including one titled “Ambassador Gui Congyou Refutes Lies of Swedish Media About the Case of Gui Minhai” in November.
Detained Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai ‘alive and well’, Chinese ambassador to Sweden says
The statement was published shortly before PEN International’s Swedish branch handed Gui Minhai the Tucholsky award, which is given annually to a writer or publisher who faces persecution or has been forced into exile.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press
