China is banned from going to see the Queen lie in state
A CHINESE government delegation has been banned from the Queen’s Lying in State in Parliament – but will be allowed to attend her funeral across the road in Westminster Abbey.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle denied a request for Beijing officials to enter Westminster Hall in response to sanctions China imposed on a group of British parliamentarians.
Last year Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang was banned from entering the Palace of Westminster after seven British politicians critical of Beijing were singled out for punishment.
But it is understood that Chinese officials will still attend the Queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey on Monday.
The decision not to add China to the list of banned states – which includes Russia, its ally Belarus and Myanmar – has caused uproar among parliamentarians.
Last night senior figures praised the Commons authorities for sticking to their guns despite the possibility of a diplomatic rift. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, one of the politicians
‘At least Parliament is speaking out’
sanctioned by Beijing, said: ‘At least Parliament is standing up and speaking out for free speech. If you ban Myanmar for human rights abuses, why not China?
‘They’re guilty of genocide against the Uighurs, arresting innocent democracy campaigners – the list is astonishing.’
Chinese president Xi Jinping received an official invitation to the funeral but he is expected to send his representatives instead. He has only this week undertaken his first foreign trip since the start of the Covid pandemic, visiting Kazakhstan and then neighbouring Uzbekistan to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin and other leaders.
It was reported this week that Mr Xi’s vice-president Wang Qishan will arrive in London tomorrow, having visited the British embassy in Beijing to pay his respects.
Earlier this week the group of MPs and peers sanctioned by China – which also includes Tim Loughton, Lord Alton and Baroness Kennedy – wrote to the Commons and Lords Speakers saying they were ‘ greatly concerned’ by the funeral invitation extended to China.
‘Given the United Kingdom Parliament has voted to recognise the genocide committed by the Chinese government against the Uighur people, it is extraordinary that the architects of that genocide should be treated in any more favourable way than those countries who have been barred,’ they wrote.
The Prime Minister’s deputy spokesman refused to comment on the matter, suggesting it was a decision for Parliament to make.
Liz Truss has pledged to be tougher on Beijing. One of her last acts as foreign secretary was summoning the Chinese ambassador over the country’s aggression towards Taiwan.
No 10 has also detailed which world leaders visiting for the funeral are expected to meet the Prime Minister privately this weekend.
Today is the turn of the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern, at Chevening, the foreign secretary’s country residence which Miss Truss is retaining temporarily.
Tomorrow US President Joe Biden, Irish taoiseach Micheal Martin, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Polish president Andrzej Duda will meet her.