Amid Nepal crisis, intrigue over China envoy's activities; meets Prachanda after President

Days after she met Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Chinese ambassador Hou Yanqi on Thursday met Nepal Communist Party's executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. The former Prime Minister now claims control over the ruling party after removing Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli from the posts of the party's parliamentary leader and chair and has been embroiled in a tug-of-war over control of the ruling party that has resulted in the last week in the dissolution of the nation's Parliament and the announcement of early elections. The role of the Chinese envoy in the events that have gone on over the last couple of months, which include Oli pivoting away from India via provocative moves by his government, has been the subject of enormous speculation. 

'Ambassador Hou met with Dahal'

According to The Himalayan Times, Yanqi called on Dahal at his residence in Khumaltar, Lalitpur following the controversial dissolution of House of Representatives – the decision that has led to the formal splitting up of the largest party in Nepal.

A member from Dahal's secretariat confirmed the meeting of around half an hour to The Kathmandu Post and described it as an "informal" meeting. "Ambassador Hou met with Dahal today," said a member of the Dahal’s secretariat. The member did not provide details but said, “discussions must have revolved around contemporary political developments.”

Bishnu Rijal, a leader close to the Prachanda-faction, tweeted that the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Hou Yanqi, met Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda' on Thursday morning. They discussed the issues of bilateral concerns.

China's rising interference in Nepal's politics

This is not the first time that the Chinese ambassador has intervened in Nepal's internal affairs at a time of crisis. In May, Hou held separate meetings with President Bhandari, the Prime Minister and other senior NCP leaders, including Prachanda, when Oli was facing mounting pressure to step down.

In July, she again met a number of top leaders, including the President, Prime Minister, Prachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal and Bamdev Gautam to save Oli, who is known for his pro-Beijing leanings. A number of political party leaders had termed the Chinese envoy's series of meetings with the ruling party leaders as interference in Nepal's internal political affairs.

China's political profile in Nepal has been on the rise in recent years with billions of dollars of investments under Beijing's multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the building of the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network. Besides the investments, China's ambassador to Nepal Hou has made open efforts to garner support for Oli.

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Oli was earlier removed from the post of party's chairman on Tuesday by a central committee meeting of the Prachanda-led faction, which also decided to take disciplinary action against him for dissolving the House of Representatives "unconstitutionally".

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Political crisis in Nepal

Nepal on Sunday plunged into a political crisis after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced dates for mid-term elections at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, sparking protests from a section of the ruling party and various opposition parties, including Nepali Congress.

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The move came after the intra-party feud reached a climax in the ruling party which has been witnessing months-long power tussle between two factions, one led by 68-year-old Oli and another led by 66-year-old Prachanda. The ruling party has now been virtually divided more than two years after it was formed following the merger of CPN-UML led by Oli and CPN-Maoist Centre led by Prachanda in May 2018. Both factions of the party have intensified efforts to retain official party recognition along with the election symbol. The two factions are now busy making strategies to wrest control of the party.

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(With agency inputs)