EU urges China to release Swedish book publisher

BEIJING, Jan 24 (AFP): The European Union's ambassador to China urged Beijing on Wednesday immediately to release a book publisher after the Swedish citizen was snatched for a second time, while accompanied by Swedish diplomats.

The case of Hong Kong-based Gui Minhai, 53, has sparked a diplomatic row between Stockholm and Beijing, with Chinese authorities declining to give any details about his whereabouts amid concerns about his health.

His daughter Angela Gui has said he was detained by around 10 plainclothes police on Saturday while on a train to Beijing from the eastern city of Ningbo, where he was living, while accompanied by two Swedish diplomats.

"We expect the Chinese authorities to immediately release Mr Gui Minhai from detention and allow him to reunite with his family, to get consular support and to get medical support," EU ambassador Hans Dietmar Schweisgut told a news conference in Beijing.