China’s UK ambassador banned from parliament over sanctions
Al Jazeera
Zheng Zeguang was due to speak at an event on Wednesday, but speakers said it was ‘inappropriate’ for him to attend.
China’s ambassador to the United Kingdom has been banned from the British parliament because Beijing imposed sanctions on legislators after they spoke out against alleged human rights abuses directed at the minority Uighurs in the far western region of Xinjiang.
Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House of Commons, and John McFall, the speaker of the House of Lords, said it would not be “appropriate” for Zheng Zeguang to speak at an event in parliament while members were subject to Chinese sanctions. The ban was put in place on Tuesday.
“I regularly hold meetings with ambassadors from across the world to establish enduring ties between countries and parliamentarians,” Hoyle said.
