Chinese Embassy fails to provide Ambassador Yanqi’s meetings with the President and senior Nepalese Cabinet leadership to MFA’s Protocol Division
New Delhi: In an action considered as a sheer violation of diplomatic protocols, Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi has been holding close door meetings with several Nepalese politicians, including the President and other senior officials at a time when fissures continue to deepen in the domestic political arena of Kathmandu.
Beijing, known to catalyze Nepal’s domestic front, has been proactively chairing clandestine interactions with political heavyweights as talks started echoing the demand for the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
These sessions staged by Ambassador Yanqi came under the radar on Tuesday, as she left her hour-long meeting with former Prime Minister Khanal at the latter’s residence in Swayambhu in Kathmandu.
Prior to this, on 5 July Ambassador Yanqi had held a meeting with Madhav Nepal, who is the head of the Nepal Communist Party’s Foreign Relations Department. Reports indicated that the two discussed the ongoing conflict within the ruling party, upon which the Chinese diplomat presented political strategies while assuring Beijing’s steadfast support.
Ambassador Yanqi, before her meeting with Nepal, had also met President Bidya Devi Bhandari on 3 July in a similar way – without adhering to diplomatic protocols. Local news agencies reported that the senior Chinese diplomat’s hush-hush meeting on Friday was one of the several such interactions she had been holding at the President’s office – at times in late evenings or in the early mornings.
According to an official at the Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the department has considered these actions of Ambassador Yanqi as ‘sheer violation of diplomatic norms and conduct.’ As per the diplomatic protocol, a representative of the MFA must be present in the meetings and interactions involving foreign mission representatives and Nepalese leadership.
“We have one of our official posted at the President’s Office, who is in charge of the diplomatic protocol. The officer after knowing a scheduled meeting with a foreign mission conveys the same to the MFA,” the officer said while speaking to The News21, requesting anonymity.
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The officer then presents the subject of meeting and points of discussion to the President, before the meeting and even bears witness to the entire interaction. “However, no such diplomatic protocols were followed,” he pointed while adding that the Chinese Embassy at times has even failed to convey the out of city movements of their Chief of Mission to the Nepalese Protocol office via an official mail.
“An Ambassador’s appointments and trips outside the city limits are conveyed in advance to the Protocol department by his secretary, and to the Police by his security office via an official mail. It is mandated as per the diplomatic protocols, as the host nation is responsible for the safety and security of the Ambassador,” the officer said.
Repeated attempts of The News21 to get an official response on the issue from the Nepalese PMO and the MFA remained futile, as officials denied providing any statement.
Nepal’s Diplomatic Dichotomy
Kathmandu under Oli’s leadership has been reportedly criticizing Indian diplomats in Nepal on their meetings with officials and politicians. However, the PMO has been overlooking Ambassador Yanqi’s unscheduled informal meetings and engaging Chinese tea-sessions with politicians, and officials since her appointment in 2018.
According to sources, Ambassador Yanqi had also held such interaction in the months of June and May – featuring long and detailed discussions with representatives of the Standing Committee, and senior leaders of the Nepal Communist Party.
Last year in November, a gala buffet was held on the premises of the Chinese Embassy for over 100 NGO representatives and social workers from various border-town villages of Nepal, which was allegedly found out by the MFA in the next day media reports.
Aggrandized Chinese Confucius Footprint
The Chinese Confucius institute was established in Nepal in February 2007, after an agreement was signed between Beijing on behalf of the Office of the Chinese Language Council International and Kathmandu University. Three months after its establishment, the institute opened its doors to Nepalese citizens.
While the institute has been operating at a ‘good-rate’, as per a Kathmandu University official, it was Ambassador Yanqi, who not only intensified its activities but also expanded its outreach.
Ever since her appointment, the Chinese diplomat has personally advocated various programs and grants of the institute to several primary and secondary level schools in Nepal. She has started various competitions, events held under the tag of Chinese Bridge – a Chinese language and cultural performance competitions – in these public schools.
In one such event held in September 2019, Ambassador Yanqi was quoted saying that educational and cultural contests are a good platform to understand China. She had further said that ‘these (Nepalese) students are the future of the country, I hope that the students would work as ambassadors and contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations between Nepal and China.’
As per the Nepalese school education department – in 2019 more than 750 primary and secondary level students from 65 schools from Kathmandu had registered in various programs sponsored by the Chinese institute.
“Chinese language has gained much popularity in Nepal lately. Several public schools are now offering Chinese language lessons to Nepali students under the guidance of Chinese volunteer teachers. The Embassy’s education-cultural division also donates books on Chinese history, philosophy, literature, and arts to the schools,” the university official said.
He added that the Chinese language, cultural activities like dance, martial arts, calligraphy among others have gained popularity in young Nepalese.
