China to send top leader to Nepal
KATHMANDU: China is sending a four-member team led by a viceminister of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) to Kathmandu in what is believed to be its effort to assess the ground situation and prevent a split in the ruling the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), a media report said on Saturday.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced dates for mid-term elections at the recommendation of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday, sparking protests from a section of the ruling party.
The ruling NCP has been virtually split between the factions led by PM Oli and executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, two years after it was formed with the merger between CPN-UML led by Oli and CPN-Maoist Centre led by Prachanda in May 2018.
At least two NCP leaders confirmed that Guo Yezhou, viceminister of the international department of the CPC, is arriving here on Sunday, The Kathmandu
Post reported.
“Leading a four-member team, Guo is scheduled to land in Kathmandu on Sunday morning on a regular China Southern Airlines flight,” the paper reported, citing sources in both factions of the NCP. The paper said that the Chinese move is believed to be Beijing’s effort to assess the ground situation.
Bishnu Rijal, deputy head of department of foreign affairs of the NCP’s Prachanda-led faction, said that the Chinese side has communicated about Gou’s visit to Kathmandu. “I don’t have much detail to share with you at this point of time,” Rijal was quoted as saying by the paper.
The Chinese embassy in Kathmandu did not respond to its multiple calls and messages, the paper said. Citing sources in the ruling party, the paper said that during his four-day stay in Kathmandu, the Chinese vice-minister is scheduled to meet top leaders of both factions of the NCP.
The development comes after Chinese ambassador in Nepal Hou Yanqi held a series of meetings with the president and top leaders of the NCP, including Prachanda and Madhav Nepal, who has replaced Oli as chairman of the Prachanda-led faction. During her meeting with Madhav Nepal on Friday, Hou, who was concerned about the split in the party, inquired about the future political course of the ruling party among other things, the paper quoted Rijal as saying.
Hou on Thursday met Prachanda, who claimed control over the NCP after removing Oli from the posts of the party’s parliamentary leader and chair.