China demands apology over Swedish broadcaster’s comedy show on tourist spat
Attacks on programme and its presenter are the latest turn in an international incident that began when three Chinese visitors arrived at a Stockholm hostel well before check-in time

China’s embassy in Stockholm has lashed out at Sweden’s national television broadcaster, demanding an apology for “insulting China” in a comedy show referring to a controversial case involving three Chinese tourists.
The embassy said on Saturday that the Sveriges Television (SVT) programme, which was aired on Friday night, and presenter Jesper Rönndahl “spread and advocate racism and xenophobia outright”.
“SVT argued that this is an entertainment programme, an argument which is totally unacceptable and we firmly reject. We urge SVT and the programme to immediately give an apology,” the embassy said.
On his Twitter account, Rönndahl said only that the programme had “started a diplomatic crisis with a superpower”.
The embassy also issued a fresh warning to Chinese tourists in Sweden, saying it had received reports about “theft and robbery” almost on a daily basis since April but the Swedish police had not solved a single case.
The attacks on Rönndahl and Swedish television are the latest twist in the case of three Chinese visitors – a couple and their adult son surnamed Zeng – who arrived at a hostel in the Swedish capital just after midnight on September 2, about 14 hours before check-in time.
The family asked if they could wait in the lobby and refused to leave the premises when they were not allowed to stay. Hostel staff called the police and officers escorted them outside.
Footage of Zeng screaming at police officers outside the hostel was later posted on Chinese social media.
China said the tourists were mistreated and accused Sweden of violating diplomatic protocol by not responding to its request for a thorough investigation.