Swedish ambassador to Beijing recalled

STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s ambassador to Beijing has been recalled after claims she brokered an unauthorised meeting over the fate of detained Chinese-Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai, Stockholm said on Thursday.

The Hong Kong-based dissident -- known for publishing gossipy titles about Chinese political leaders -- disappeared in 2015 before resurfacing in mainland China. He was arrested on a train to Beijing in January last year while travelling with two Swedish diplomats.

In an online post this week, Britain-based Angela Gui said ambassador Anna Lindstedt had arranged for her to travel to Stockholm to meet businessmen "with connections to the Chinese Communist Party", who claimed they could help negotiate her father’s release.

The Swedish foreign ministry admitted on Thursday it knew nothing about the meetings until after they had taken place -- and was not even aware Lindstedt was in Sweden at the time. She was now subject to an internal investigation "due to the information we’ve received concerning incorrect actions in connection with certain events in January", Rasmus Eljanskog, a foreign affairs press officer, told AFP.

Angela Gui said that in exchange for her father’s release, she was told she would have to "be quiet" and "stop all media engagement" on her father’s treatment. She also said Lindstedt was present at the meetings and had promised to appear on Swedish television and "speak of the bright future of Sweden-China relations" if Gui was released.

When asked about Gui’s allegations, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday she "did not know the latest news" on Gui’s situation. Last week, the Chinese embassy in Sweden released a statement dismissing the detained bookseller’s daughter’s claims.

"The Chinese side has never authorised and will not authorise anyone to engage with Gui Minhai’s daughter," the statement read. "The result of the Gui Minhai case is to be decided by China’s law, instead of the so-called ‘China’s representative’ claimed by Gui Minhai’s daughter or the press."