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Zheng Zeguang was originally scheduled to speak at an event on Wednesday, but the spokesperson said he was “inappropriate” to attend.
The Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom was barred from entering the British Parliament because Beijing imposed sanctions on legislators after they publicly opposed human rights violations against minorities Uyghur In the far west of Xinjiang.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle (Lindsay Hoyle) and the Speaker of the House of Lords, John McFall (John McFall) said that Zheng Zeguang’s speech at parliamentary activities was “inappropriate” in the case of parliamentarians being sanctioned by China. The ban was implemented on Tuesday.
“I hold regular meetings with ambassadors from all over the world to establish lasting connections between the country and parliamentarians,” Hoyle said.
“But I think that when his country imposed sanctions on some of our members, it would be inappropriate for the Chinese ambassador to meet at our place of work in the House of Commons.”
The London-based Times described the ban as an “unprecedented intervention,” which drew a strong response from China.
The embassy in the UK issued a statement stating that “some people in the British Parliament are seeking personal political interests and obstructing normal exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK. They are against the will of the two peoples and harm the interests of the two peoples.” Said.
China Impose sanctions In March, nine British politicians, lawyers and an academic spread what it said were “lie and false information” about the treatment of the main Muslim Uighurs.
Adopted in the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and Canada “Coordinated actionAgainst Chinese officials accused of plotting to suppress Uighurs. British lawmakers singled out by China took the lead in launching a campaign to restrict British investment in China by proposing a “genocide amendment” to the trade legislation under consideration.
Those sanctioned include former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan Smith, Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat, and Human Rights Lawyer Helena Kennedy in the House of Lords.
Zheng Yuan is scheduled to deliver a speech on Wednesday at the All-Party Parliamentary China Group composed of members of both houses of parliament. The organization is seen as more sympathetic to Beijing.
The sanctioned members have written to the speaker expressing their concerns about the incident.
Smith wrote on Twitter: “This meeting should not have been proposed in the first place: the mother of parliament protects freedom of speech and freedom of the people,” he thanked the spokesperson for his “swift action”.
Hoyle said that while the sanctions still exist, the ambassador will be banned. According to The Times, this is the first time that an ambassador has been barred from entering Parliament.
The ruling Conservative Party politician Tim Loughton (Tim Loughton) was also sanctioned, and he welcomed the decision.
He said that China cannot think that “they can shut down the freedom of speech for parliamentarians in democratic countries.”
The Chinese Embassy stated in the statement that the sanctions against the actions taken by the United Kingdom against Xinjiang-related officials are “irreproachable” and “reasonable responses.”
London and Beijing have been making angry comments on a range of issues, including the Hong Kong incident and China’s trade policy.
Activists and UN experts say that at least 1 million Muslims are being held in refugee camps in Xinjiang.
China denies allegations of abuse and stated that these camps are vocational skills training centers necessary to combat extremism.
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