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China’s ambassador to Britain was locked out of parliament after a British lawmaker authorized by the administration expressed anger at his planned visit.
Zheng Zeguang was invited to the House of Commons reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in China on Wednesday. Telegraph report.
However, after the intervention of the chairs of both houses, he is now banned from stepping into parliament.
The Chinese administration has imposed sanctions on nine British people, including politicians, lawyers and scholars, in retaliation for British sanctions against Chinese authorities responsible for Uighur abuse in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Five Conservatives (Tom Tagendat, Iain Duncan Smith, Neil O’Brien, Tim Loughton, Nus Ghani) and two members of the House of Lords (Crossbencher David) were sanctioned.・ Sir Alton, Baroness Helena, a member of the Labor Party). Kennedy.
However, China’s APPG invited Chung, who became Beijing’s ambassador in London in June, to a summer party at the Commons Terrace Pavilion overlooking the Thames.
Last week, some of the authorized lawmakers wrote to the speaker in protest of the invitation, BBC report.
“It is clearly free for the British Prime Minister of China to come to Westminster and use the facility here as a mouthpiece for his administration,” even after the parliament itself was directly targeted. Said “I can’t think of it.” administration.
In response to the protest, Speaker of the House Lindsay Hoyle said: “I meet with ambassadors around the world on a regular basis to establish a lasting relationship between the state and parliamentarians. However, the Chinese ambassador’s meeting with Commons real estate at our workplace is I don’t think it’s appropriate when his country imposes sanctions on some of our members. “
“Once these sanctions are lifted, of course this won’t be a problem,” he said. “I’m not saying I can’t have a meeting, I’m just saying I can’t have a meeting here while these sanctions are in place.”
A spokeswoman for the Aristocratic House or Sir McFaul confirmed that both Houses “agree to hold this particular APPG China Conference elsewhere, given sanctions on current members.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former leader of the ruling Conservative Party, and a group of his authorized colleagues thanked the speaker for his “strong principle position” and allowed diplomats to real estate in “Parliament.” It was an insult to. “
“We welcome the strong principled position taken by the Speaker and the Speaker of the Aristocrats in supporting the freedom of speech of the mother of Parliament by supporting parliamentarians sanctioned by China. “They said in a joint statement.
However, Conservative lawmaker Richard Graham, who chairs APPG in China, said he “regrets” having to postpone the talks.
Graham argued that “the best way to discuss the issue is to get involved,” and it was “very important” for the group to hear from the new ambassador.
PA contributed to this report.
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