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Gui Minhai, 51, was in Thailand when he disappeared in October 2015<\/span><\/p> A Hong Kong publisher reported missing last October has appeared on Chinese state TV saying he voluntarily handed himself over to the authorities.<\/span><\/p> Gui Minhai said he turned himself in after being on the run for 12 years over a drink-driving conviction.<\/span><\/p> Mr Gui, a Swedish national, is one of five Hong Kong booksellers to go missing recently.<\/span><\/p> Some in Hong Kong have alleged they are being detained by China because of a book critical of the mainland.<\/span><\/p> Thousands joined rallies in Hong Kong last week over the disappearances, saying it amounted to an erosion of freedoms.<\/span><\/p> The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said Mr Gui, 51, was involved in a fatal car accident in the eastern city of Ningbo, in which a female college student was killed. It said he fled while under a suspended two-year jail term.<\/span><\/p> Politician Albert Chan is removed from Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Chambers for protesting over the missing bookseller during a policy address by the chief executive, Leung Chun-ying<\/span><\/p> “I am taking my legal responsibilities, and am willing to accept any punishment,” he told CCTV, according to Xinhua.<\/span><\/p> Mr Gui was the owner of the Mighty Current publishing house in Hong Kong. He failed to return from a holiday in Thailand in October.<\/span><\/p> Activists believe he was unlawfully transported to China because of an unpublished book about the private life of the Chinese president.<\/span><\/p> The five who went missing either work for Mighty Current or a small bookstore it owns called Causeway Bay Books.<\/span><\/p> The bookshop is known for selling works critical of China which are banned in the mainland.<\/span><\/p> Mystery disappearances in Hong Kong book world<\/span><\/p> Gui Minhai: 51, disappeared while staying in Thailand in October 2015. The China-born Swedish national owns the Mighty Current publishing house<\/span><\/p> Lui Bo: last seen in mainland China, just north of Hong Kong, in October 2015. General manager of Mighty Current<\/span><\/p> Cheung Jiping: 32, last seen in mainland China in October 2015. Mighty Current’s business manager<\/span><\/p> Lam Wingkei: 60, last seen in Hong Kong in October 2015. Manager of Causeway Bay bookstore<\/span><\/p> Lee Bo: 65 – also known as Paul Lee – disappeared in Hong Kong in late December 2015. A shareholder in Causeway bookshop and a UK passport holder. Wife withdraws request for police to help find him in early 2016 saying he has been in contact from mainland China<\/span><\/p> During the recorded interview, Mr Gui also asked the Swedish authorities not to get involved.<\/span><\/p> “Even though I am a Swedish national, I truly feel that I am still Chinese and my roots are still in China. So I hope that the Swedish side would respect my personal choice, rights and privacy and let me solve my own problems,” he said.<\/span><\/p> Last Sunday, thousands of protesters marched to the offices of Beijing’s representative in Hong Kong, chanting “say no to political kidnapping”.<\/span><\/p> The latest to vanish was Lee Bo, in late December – Mr Lee raised the alarm after four of his associates went missing in October.<\/span><\/p> Hong Kong<\/span> authorities have said they are conducting a “thorough” investigation into the disappearance of the five men.<\/span><\/p> Under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong is supposed to enjoy high degrees of autonomy from China.<\/span><\/p> <\/div> <\/div>