Swedish double Olympic speed skating champion Nils van der Poel has donated one of his gold medals to Chinese-born Swedish citizen Gui Minhai, an author and a bookseller who is serving a prison term in China.
The skater, who won the 5,000-meter event at the Beijing Olympics and then broke the world record during the 10,000-meter race and won another gold, handed the medal to Gui’s daughter Angela on Feb. 24 to raise awareness of the human rights situation in China, according to a statement released by UK-based Amnesty International.“I want human rights abuses in China to be reduced and Gui Minhai to be released,” said the Olympic winner. “It is a lot to ask, but it is the only reasonable thing to wish for.”
In February 2020, Chinese authorities sentenced Gui, who was born in China but has Swedish citizenship, to 10 years in prison for allegedly providing intelligence overseas by illegal means.
Gui was a prolific author of books critical of powerful Chinese political figures under the pen-name of Ah Hai. He was also one of three shareholders of Hong Kong-based Causeway Bay Books that sold books on topics that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) considered sensitive and therefore banned in China.
Between October and December 2015, five key staff of the bookstore went missing one after another in mainland China, Thailand, or Hong Kong, including its owner, Lam Wing-kee, and Gui. Later, they all turned out to have been placed under the control of Chinese authorities. The incident raised global attention, adding to Hong Kongers’ concerns over local freedoms of speech and publication.
Additionally, Gui’s arrest and conviction led to tensions between China and Sweden.
Van der Poel accused Beijing of exploiting the recent Winter Olympics to whitewash its human rights issues.
“I and my friends in sports have spent our lives striving for the top,” he said, “and the Chinese government uses our dreams as a political weapon to legitimize its regime. It became personal for me and I felt used.”
Angela accepted the medal on behalf of her father. “Of course, I would have preferred that this was not needed,” she said, “but it feels very good that the medal can represent solidarity for political prisoners like my father, and the countless other victims of Beijing’s human rights abuses.”
The Swedish government added its voice to the campaign.
“Two years ago, China announced the sentencing of Swedish and EU citizen Gui Minhai to 10 years imprisonment,” Swedish foreign minister Anna Linde wrote on Twitter on Feb. 25. “We continue to demand consular access and strongly insist that Gui Minhai is released and able to reunite with his daughter and family.”
The Chinese Embassy in Stockholm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
