Försvinnandet av svenske förläggaren Gui Minhai har väckt ett stort intresse bland läsarna här på InBeijing. Min tidigare tre artiklar om fallet (här, här och här) har delats hundratals gånger och fått flera personer att höra av sig.
Tänkte därför det vore på sin plats att uppmärksamma den långa artikel om Gui Minhai som The Guardian publicerade i dag, full med detaljer och till och med en video över försvinnandet, som beskrivs enligt följande:
On his last morning, she said, a man who did not speak fluent Thai and speaking Chinese on the phone waited at the apartment gates while Gui was out buying groceries.
When Gui returned, he parked the car in the driveway, briefly spoke to the man and then told the security guard to deliver the shopping to his apartment, the manager said. The unidentified man got in Gui’s car and they drove out, security footage showed.
Reportrarna har även besökt Guis hem i Thailand och konstaterar att någon utredning knappast pågår, eftersom hans ägodelar inte har rörts sedan försvinnandet.
Att ingen utredning pågår beror även på att ingen verkar ha lämnat någon anmälan till thailändska myndigheter, då hans dotter istället uppmanats att anmäla fallet till Interpol:
Gabriel Wernstedt from the Swedish ministry of foreign affairs told the Guardian its embassies in Bangkok and Beijing are investigating and had “raised the issue with high-level Thai representatives”.
But police captain Pichitpong Yodpikul in Pattaya said that while a daily log had been recorded, the police cannot act until a family member files an official police report. A copy of the daily log seen by the Guardian said Gui’s family “are afraid that he is in danger”.
Gui’s daughter said Swedish police had already filed a report through Interpol: “Interpol were supposed to put pressure on Thailand.”
When told that not a single police officer or government official had visited the apartment, she said: “The fact that nobody has been down, that is worrying.”
The Guardian fastslår också att Guis försvinnande är en del av trenden att Kinas myndigheter allt oftare går utanför landets gränser för att hämta in misstänka brottslingar eller meningsmotståndare:
China’s expatriate critics have long avoided the mainland but Beijing — which unlike the US and Russia does not have a long history of cloak-and-dagger activities outside its borders — is increasingly tracking down opponents abroad.
Chinese president Xi Jinping launched Operation Fox Hunt last year to repatriate Chinese fugitives abroad and has since brought home hundreds of people wanted by Beijing, mostly on corruption charges.
Tidningens efterforskningar har vidare visat att det finns tre teorier om varför Gui Minhai har försvunnit:
One is that the apparent abduction was linked to a particularly racy book Gui had been preparing to send to the printers. Some believe powerful mainland figures may have ordered members of the Chinese mafia in Pattaya to snatch the publisher.
“So we all suspect it has something to do with his upcoming book,” Lee said. Gui had kept the contents of the book a complete secret. “Nobody knows. Not even the name do we know.
“I think it must be one of his books or many [of his] books offended some high ranking Chinese officials, possibly Chinese leaders,” he added.
Asked how senior members of the Communist party felt about Gui, Lee said: “Certainly they don’t like him. But to publish this kind of book which is critical of the Chinese regime is not unusual in Hong Kong … Why is Mr Gui singled out? Probably he has some kind of books – or a book – the Chinese leadership must get rid of. It’s the only reason I can think of.”
Another source in Hong Kong’s publishing industry said many believed Gui’s disappearance was the result of a “personal vendetta” by powerful mainland figures who had been irritated by Gui’s books. “They see him as a nuisance,” said the source, who declined to be named. “They take it personally.”
Others in the dissident community believe it was the government itself that ordered Gui’s abduction.
Vad har då kinesiska myndigheter att säga om fallet då? Jo, givetvis förnekar de all kännedom och inblandning gällande Gui Minhais försvinnande:
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs in Beijing, declined to comment when asked if the Chinese government had any information on Gui’s disappearance or whereabouts. She also declined to comment on the suggestion that the Chinese government might have been involved in Gui’s detention.
“I’m not aware of the specific case that you mentioned,” Hua told the Guardian on Monday.
Det är dock tydligt att Thailand har ett finger med i spelet; att thailändska myndigheter helt enkelt har börjat samarbeta med Kina sedan militären nyligen tog över makten i landet:
A recent editorial by the Bangkok Post wrote “every Thai knows the government is bowing to China’s demands” and Thailand’s former foreign minister in July said if his Chinese counterpart “were a woman I will fall in love with his excellency.”
More covert operations might have taken place, too. In October, the 16-year-old son of a prominent human rights lawyer at the centre of a Chinese government crackdown disappeared while attempting to flee to the US through southeast Asia.
Jag var också i kontakt med en av reportrarna bakom The Guardians artikel, för att fråga vad svenska myndigheter sagt till honom angående kontakter med Kina angående Gui Haimins försvinnande.
Journalisten, vars namn är Oliver Holmes, sade att svenska ambassaden i Bangkok bekräftat att de tagit upp fallet med sin thailändska motpart ”på hög nivå”.
Men på frågan om svenska ambassaden eller någon annan myndighet kontaktat Kina i ärendet, blev svaret att man i nuläget ”inte har någon information” om vart Gui befinner sig för tillfället, och utreder detta genom ”lokala myndigheter”.
