The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government should be barred from the coronation of King Charles III, says a British MP who is being sanctioned by Beijing.
Prince Charles, who became king after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, will be formally crowned with his wife in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Foreign leaders and representatives are usually invited to the ceremony, but some British lawmakers have warned that China’s attendance would be unacceptable, citing the regime’s crimes against humanity and the threat it poses to Britain. are doing.
Sir Ian Duncan Smith, a Conservative Party member who was sanctioned by Beijing in 2021 for speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party’s abuse of Uyghur Muslims, told The Telegraph: Guilty of genocide and a series of crimes against humanity. ”
Beijing’s “threat to Taiwan” and “Russia’s tacit support” were further reasons Duncan Smith said he opposed China’s invitation to the May event.
Lord Alton, a Dreadnought member of the House of Lords who was also sanctioned by the government, told the newspaper: From Taiwan to Tibet, Hong Kong to Xinjiang, and the growing direct threat to Britain’s security, these should all alarm us. ”
He said that the coronation was “the ultimate celebration of our constitutional parliamentary democracy and of all things contrary to the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party,” and that Chinese officials “should not be accorded the usual diplomatic benefits.” No,’ he said.
China’s involvement “would send confusing and conflicting signals,” Lord Alton said.
‘Extraordinary’
Like the Queen’s funeral in September, coronation arrangements will likely be diplomatically cautious given the likely attendance of various national leaders.
The event could be even bigger than the Queen’s funeral in September. One reason is that overseas leaders have more time to plan their trips.
At the funeral, the leaders of most countries received invitations. However, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan were not invited, while Iran, North Korea and Nicaragua were invited only at the ambassadorial level.
In preparation for the state funeral, some sanctioned lawmakers expressed concern about the invitation of the Chinese delegation to the Queen’s funeral, calling it “abnormal”.
In letters to the Speakers of both the House and the Senate, Duncan Smith, his fellow Conservative MPs Tim Lawton, Lord Alton, and fellow Labor member Mrs. Helena Kennedy said, “The government Russia, Belarus and Myanmar have been invited to attend next week’s state funeral, although Russia, Belarus and Myanmar are excluded.
“Given that the British parliament voted to authorize the Chinese government’s genocide against Uyghurs, it is surprising that the architects of that genocide should be treated in a more favorable way than the banned countries. is,” they said. .
China ended up with Vice-President Wang Qishan attending the state funeral, and a Chinese delegation also attended the Queen’s resting ceremony at Westminster Hall.
Ambassador Ban
However, sanctioned lawmakers succeeded in expelling the Chinese ambassador from the Capitol.
In September 2021, Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, was invited to a House of Commons reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on China (APPG).
Some of the sanctioned MPs wrote to the Speaker against the invitation. They said it was still “unthinkable” for a British Chinese government prime minister to come freely to Westminster and use the facilities here as an advocate for his government.
In response to the protest, Speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: However, I do not feel it appropriate for the Chinese ambassador to meet at the Commons Estate or at our workplace.
A spokeswoman for Senate Speaker Lord McFaul said the Speakers of both Houses “agreed that this particular APPG China meeting should be held elsewhere in light of the current sanctions on its members. “It was confirmed.
PA Media contributed to this report.