The reason for the disagreement will be the Asian country’s sanctions against five British MPs and two lords. About a year ago, China imposed travel sanctions and an asset freeze on nine Britons, including seven MPs.
A Chinese government delegation has been banned from entering the place where the body of Elizabeth II is in the burning chamber, at the Palace of Westminster, Parliament building in London, the BBC reported on Friday.
House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle rejected the Chinese delegation’s request to pay tribute to the monarch due to the Asian country’s sanctions against five British MPs and two lords, according to the British public station, which has not been officially confirmed.
The news had already been advanced on Thursday night by the website “Politico”.
Last year, China imposed travel sanctions and an asset freeze on nine Britons – including seven MPs – for accusing Beijing of mistreating the Uighur ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang region.
In retaliation, Hoyle banned the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom from entering Parliament, a measure now extended to the Chinese delegation that wanted to pay their respects to the Queen at the funeral chapel.
According to Chinese media, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan is expected to represent the country at Monday’s state funeral, which will take place at Westminster Abbey, close to Parliament.
Last September, Speakers of the House of Lords, John McFall, and of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, informed the Chinese ambassador to China that he would not be able to appear in parliament due to the sanctions, measures that Beijing described as “despicable and cowardly”.
A group of seven MPs and Lords, including former Conservative ministers such as Iain Duncan Smith and Tim Loughton, on Thursday, urged the Foreign Office to withdraw the invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to the funeral, although he is unlikely to attend. .
The group considers that it would be “totally inappropriate” for the Chinese government to be represented at the service because of its human rights record.
Elizabeth II died on 8 September, aged 96, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, after more than 70 years on the throne, the longest reign in UK history.
After the monarch’s death, the eldest son assumed at age 73 the functions of king as Charles III.
A state funeral attended by dozens of international heads of state and government will take place on Monday at London’s Westminster Abbey.
The urn with the Queen’s body will finally be deposited, during a private event reserved for the family, in a vault at Windsor Castle where the remains of her parents and sister are, and where the coffin of her husband, Prince Philip, will be transferred. , who died aged 99 in 2021.
Source: With Agencies
