Swedish freelance journalist Jojje Olson has been threatened again by the Chinese Embassy for reporting on the Chinese Communist Party’s boycott of H&M. The Christian Democrats and the Swedish Democrats have called for the expulsion of Chinese Ambassador Gui Congyou because of repeated threats from the Chinese embassy against journalists.
This is not the first time that the Chinese embassy has tried to influence freedom of expression in Sweden by threatening journalists in Sweden. The right-leaning opposition parties, the CDP and the Sweden Democrats, had proposed to expel Gui, and after this incident, the two parties have strengthened their position and hope to put the proposal into practice.
Markus Wiechel, the Sweden Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesman, said the Chinese ambassador had threatened Swedish journalists and politicians for years and that such behavior was unacceptable, and that the Sweden Democrats had already proposed in 2019 that Gui be listed as “persona non grata. He said that Gui has seriously affected diplomatic relations between the two countries and has made the position of Chinese people in Sweden worse and worse.
Lars Adaktusson, a foreign affairs spokesman for the Christian Democrats, also argued that the fact that the Chinese ambassador had been summoned did not change the style of the Chinese embassy, and that Sweden should classify Gui as persona non grata.
In addition to these two parties calling for Gui’s expulsion, other opposition parties have also expressed their discontent with the Chinese Embassy’s attempts to influence freedom of expression in Sweden.
The Left Party has also proposed to expel the Chinese ambassador. Ulf Kristersson, chairman of Moderates, has also repeatedly called for the ruling party to be tougher on China. He said that summoning the ambassador did not work and that a tougher approach should be used, even joining other European countries in sanctioning China. Kerstin Lundgren, a representative of the Centre Party, said that if the Chinese Communist Party wants to join the world market, it must understand that there is a price to pay, and that the EU has been too weak in the face of the Chinese Communist Party.
In response, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said they have summoned the Chinese ambassador several times and told him that freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed in Sweden and that journalists are free to report on their work; they have also repeatedly asked the Chinese ambassador to respect Swedish law and said that threatening behavior is not acceptable.
Threats from the Chinese embassy against Swedish journalists have been the norm. Longtime Taiwan-based freelance journalist Yono says on his news platform Kinamedia that this is not the first time he has received threats from the Chinese embassy, but this time the threats in the email are stronger than ever.
“Lars Ströman, editor-in-chief of the political section of Nerikes Allehanda, has also received threats from the Chinese embassy for an interview with Taiwan’s representative in Sweden, Yao Jinxiang, in which he referred to him as an ambassador and published a story critical of China, expressing support for China’s ” He also received at least three hostile emails from the Chinese embassy for an interview with Taiwan’s representative in Sweden, Yao Jinxiang, who was referred to as ambassador and published a report criticizing China and expressing support for China’s “neighbor” Taiwan.
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