China, Sweden escalate war of words over support for detained bookseller

Swedish Culture and Democracy Minister Amanda Lind presents Svenska PEN's Tucholsky Prize to detained Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai in Stockholm, Sweden November 15, 2019. TT News Agency/Fredrik Sandberg via REUTERS

STOCKHOLM/BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has doubled down in its criticism of Stockholm's support for Gui Minhai, a book publisher detained in China, after Sweden's minister for culture attended a literary award ceremony in his honour.

The Chinese ambassador to Sweden had threatened Minister of Culture Amanda Lind with a ban on entering China if she attended the prize-giving on Friday.