China’s Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song has sparked a controversy after he demanded a public apology from a local journalist on social media over a post on X.
The X post claimed that Nepal had taken a loan from China at an interest rate of five percent, contrary to the two percent mentioned in official documents. Ambassador Chen sought a public apology, claiming that the information was false.
His demand came days after Gajendra Budhathoki, Editor of Taksar Magazine, wrote on X on May 27 that the interest rate of the loan Nepal received from China to build the Pokhara Regional International Airport was actually five per cent though in official documents it was mentioned as only two per cent.
“We demand a formal apology from you and whoever you represent,” Ambassador Chen wrote on X. “If you have the document, publish it. If you don’t and need time to find proof, then what kind of intention is this? Spreading lies first, then waiting for the tide to subside, and spreading them again,” he added.
Budhathoki responded on X, saying, “Do not intimidate me. Know your boundaries, Chen. I have evidence from the Nepal Government.” “The personal attack and threat that I faced from the Chinese envoy and people loyal to him over my social media remarks have raised questions regarding my security,” he further wrote. Several journalists and diplomats in Nepal have criticised the Chinese envoy’s remarks, calling them beyond the norms of standard diplomatic conduct.
“It is unusual for a foreign ambassador to demand an apology from a host country journalist for a social media post. He could refute or ask the government to clarify. The foreign ministry should remind the ambassador of the limits of ‘public diplomacy’ and the risks of direct engagement,” former foreign secretary and ambassador Madhu Raman Acharya wrote on X.
Former editor of The Himalayan Times Ajaya Bhadra Khanal also criticised Ambassador Chen over his remarks. “The @PRCAmbNepal could have just said the information is wrong instead of overreacting to @gbudhathoki and threatening him. It just displays the Chinese ambassador’s arrogance and his overbearing mentality,” he wrote on X.
(With agency inputs)
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