Important Victory against China-Bashers in Sweden

Nov. 25, 2019 (EIRNS)—A local politician has declared that the Swedish radio program “Konflikt” was wrong in its China-bashing: The program had attacked China, according to the narrative that all ethnic Chinese must be suspected of aiding China’s intelligence services. It focussed on the so-called United Front of the Communist Party, picking it up from an article in the City of London’s daily Financial Times and an international network of anti-China academics. Konflikt claimed the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden (BRIX), whose chairman is Ulf Sandmark, was in contact with the United Front, especially through fellow BRIX board member Lydia Liu. The radio program set off a media campaign against Liu, which because she was politically active in her local city council and in the local Christian Democratic Party (KD), the KD started an investigation with an eye to her expulsion, which did takeplace on Nov. 8th.

A local newspaper, Nacka Värmdö Posten (NVP), was prompted to look into the case, and on Nov. 19, published a prominent front-page interview with her, continuing for two pages inside. The headline was “Ties to China Are Not the Reason for Expulsion.” The article begins: “Lydia Liu decided against the policy of the KD and is continuing as an independent in the Nacka City Council. But the reason for her expulsion from the party is not her ties to China.” In the article, Nacka KD chairman Martin Gunnesson confirmed that “there was no evidence for what was said in Konflikt.”

The NVP article is also nationally significant, as the Christian Democracy’s statement ended the racist attack against Liu, launched by Konflikt. NVP portrays Lydia Liu prominently as a politician who defends those who are weaker people, and is not giving up on her constituents in Nacka. The KD national party is no longer discussing the case, and is hiding behind the local party.

Lydia Liu, by standing up, has succeeded to roll back, at least in one of the Swedish national parties, the racism against Chinese peddled in the media and by some public authorities, such as the Defense Research Institute and the Security Police.