Gui Minhai Releases Poems Smuggled Out Of Prison

A Swedish publisher has distributed poems written by Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai and smuggled out of the mainland prison where he is serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted of "illegally providing intelligence overseas".

Gui, who is a Swedish citizen, is one of the most high profile of the five booksellers who disappeared in 2015, all of them linked to a now-shuttered Causeway Bay store which was known for its gossipy texts on mainland political leaders.

A court in Ningbo convicted Gui in February and said he had asked to have his Chinese citizenship reinstated.

Sweden retorted that he had not asked to have his Swedish citizenship revoked and reiterated demands that he be allowed consular access, and for his release.

Publishing house Kaunitz-Olsson said in an email that the poems were written by Gui in prison.

The themes of the poems, which are printed in Chinese and Swedish, span from a longing for Swedish forests to his imprisonment.

One stanza reads "It would be embarrassing To stop writing poems Because the poetry has been caged". (Reuters)