‘He ought not to be welcome’: China’s Coronation ‘insult’ as architect of crackdown on democracy protests to attend
27 April 2023, 09:56 | Updated: 27 April 2023, 10:00
Beijing has been accused of an ‘outrageous’ decision by sending vice president responsible for cracking down on pro-democracy activism in Hong Kong to next week's coronation.
Han Zheng, China’s vice-president, is expected to attend the King’s coronation next week on behalf of the country’s head of state.
The ceremony invite was originally sent to Xi Jinping, but the head of state’s second man, Mr Han, is expected to attend instead.
Mr Han was responsible for responding to Hong Kong’s 2019 demonstrations which saw thousands arrested, numbers of people injured, and some even shot and killed.
He was vocal about his opposition to the pro-democracy protests, as he described them as “extreme and destructive acts” at the time.
“We are pretty certain Han will be coming. In terms of protocol, we invite the heads of state but it’s up to them who they send,” a Foreign Office source said on Wednesday.
MPs have called the choice of replacement “disrespectful” and “outrageous” due to Mr Han’s role during the protests.
On Wednesday, senior Tory MPs accused the vice president as being responsible for the betrayal of the international treaty agreed between the UK and China in 1997.
This said Hong Kong must remain a democratic freedom for 70 years once the handover had concluded.
Mr Xi also sent a stand-in to attend on his behalf for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last September, which provoked similar controversy.
The King’s relationship with China has been historically delicate, as he described the country’s ruling elite as “appalling old waxworks” in diary extracts that circulated the same year of the UK's handover of Hong Kong.
He also reportedly declined an invite to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, chalking the decision up to pressure from campaigners not to attend because of the country’s human rights record in Tibet.
However, despite this history, Buckingham Palace says it will not comment on the Coronation guest list.
Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by China, told the Telegraph: “Xi has no regard for us, he considers us weak.
“This is the man responsible for trashing the international treaty – the Sino-British accord – in the course of which the Hong Kong authorities have persecuted peaceful democracy campaigners. Having this man here given his role is outrageous.”
The former housing secretary, Simon Clarke also said: “Han Zheng, who has led the extinguishing of civil liberties in Hong Kong, ought not to be welcome at the Coronation.
“The Chinese government is acting ever more aggressively in the region and across the wider world, and the UK should make it clear that we utterly deplore the actions they are taking, whether it be against their Uyghur population or in their threats to Taiwan.
“There is a fine line between diplomatic statecraft and wilful naivety."
Similarly, Tim Loughton, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, has described the move as “an insult to the freedom-loving people” of Hong Kong.
“We have lobbied ministers not to allow this,” he added.
So far, Rishi Sunak has no shared any plans to meet with Mr Han.
