Chinese ambassador in Nepal demands apology from journalist on X; criticised for ‘arrogance’

Kathmandu, May 30 (FN Representative) The Chinese Ambassador in Nepal has courted controversy after demanding a public apology from a journalist over an X post.The post claimed that Nepal had taken a loan from China at an interest rate of five percent, contrary to earlier reports of two percent, MyRepublica reported. Ambassador Chen Song sought a public apology on X, asserting that the information was misleading. This demand came after journalist Gajendra Budhathoki, an editor at Taksar Magazine, wrote on X on May 27 that the interest rate on the loan that Nepal had taken from China to build the Pokhara Regional International Airport was five percent. “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. Journalist Budhathoki responded on X, saying, “Do not intimidate me. Know your boundaries, Mr. Chen. I have evidence from the Nepal Government.” The Chinese envoy’s sharp remarks have been criticised by journalists and diplomats in Nepal, with many saying that they went 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 Kathmandu Post, Sanjeev Satgainya, also criticized Ambassador Chen.

“What @PRCAmbNepal needs to understand is that Nepal is a free country where people are free to have and express their views. The ambassador is also free NOT to like some views, but it doesn’t mean threatening the public on social media like in the case of @gbudhathoki,” he wrote on X.Former editor of The Himalayan Times, Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, also joined in criticizing Ambassador Chen. “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. Several other journalists and diplomats have also joined in criticizing Ambassador Chen’s move to seek a public apology on the social media platform over the post made by the journalist.In March this year, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that diplomatic efforts had been initiated with China to convert the loan for Pokhara International Airport into a grant as the airport had failed to garner income, and had instead piled up more debt. Pokhara International Airport, which was opened on January 1, 2023, hasn’t seen any frequent international flights except for some chartered Chinese flights. In March 2016, the two countries inked an agreement for a loan amount of 1.37 billion Chinese yuan, of which 355.9 million Chinese yuan were constituted as interest-free-loan. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aviation regulating body of the Himalayan nation, has to pay the loan amount by 2036.