Chinese Delegation Barred from Viewing Queen’s Coffin
NEW DELHI, Sept 16: The Chinese delegation to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday is learnt to have been barred from viewing her coffin at the lying-in-state vigil inside parliament, media reports said on Friday.
Some British parliamentarians had raised concerns about inviting representatives from China after several British lawmakers were sanctioned by Beijing for criticising alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China denies any such abuses
The media reports said the Chinese government delegation had been banned from attending the lying-in-state after the speaker of the lower house of parliament had refused access to Westminster Hall on the parliamentary estate due to the Chinese sanctions. The speaker’s office declined to comment. The House of Commons said it did not comment on security matters.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Liz Truss has said it was for Buckingham Palace to set out the guest list after taking advice from the foreign office, which, according to convention, invites representatives from nations with which Britain has diplomatic relations.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a briefing in Beijing that she was no aware of any such development and she had not seen such media reports. “What I want to say is the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is an important event for the United Kingdom. Foreign delegations participating in the event upon invitation from the United Kingdom is a sign of respect to the Queen and the importance accorded to (relations with) the United Kingdom,” she said. “As the host, the United Kingdom should uphold diplomatic protocols and proper manners to guests.”
A host of world leaders, royalty and other dignitaries will attend the funeral. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan is expected to represent China, a British foreign office source had said on Thursday. Other visiting dignitaries will be given a timed slot to attend the lying-in-state over the weekend.
Last year, the Chinese ambassador to Britain was banned from attending an event in the British parliament because of the sanctions on the lawmakers.
(Manas Dasgupta)
