The daughter of a Hong Kong bookseller who briefly vanished last year is accusing China of holding her father under "unofficial and illegal" detention.
Angela Gui, the daughter of publisher Gui Minhai, told lawmakers on the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China Tuesday that her father was abducted by Chinese security agents while he was on vacation in Thailand last October, despite the fact that he holds a Swedish passport.
The elder Gui was not seen or heard from until January, when he appeared on Chinese state television and revealed that he entered China to face charges for a fatal car accident more than a decade earlier.
Gui Minhai owned the Mighty Current publishing house, which specialized in producing unflattering profiles of Chinese leaders.
He was one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers who disappeared from various locations late last year, before resurfacing in mainland China - sparking fears that Beijing is cracking down on freedom of speech in the semi-autonomous city.
Control of Hong Kong was transferred to China from Britain in 1997, under an agreement that preserved the city's special rights and freedoms for 50 years.
