dissidents and their families. Western countries believe that they can easily dig up stories about those people and they can be easily manipulat
ed as well. However, what happened with Angela Gui has sent a clear message that there is always the risk of it backfiring. Those peopl
e are fully aware of being used by some Western interests, which results in a strong sense of insecurity and suspicion. Some of them are also selfish. A f
ew years ago, a Chinese dissident well-known in the West left China for the US and later embarrassed his American patrons.
Furthermore, nowadays Western public opinion is increasingly radical and populist, which has made it difficult for some countrie
s to adopt a realistic approach and repair relations with China after disputes. Some prominent for
eigners who have a comprehensive understanding of China are facing an increasing risk of acting differently from t
he radical sentiment. Recently, John McCallum, Canadian ambassador to China, was criticized and finally lost his po
sition, due to his attempt to ease the China-Canada relationship regarding the incident of Meng Wanzhou.
Last but not least, the incident has primarily embarrassed the Swedish Foreign Ministry m