China is asking foreign embassies and international organizations in Beijing not to use the exterior walls of their buildings for "political propaganda". Most likely, this concerns banners in support of Ukraine.
Kyodo News writes about it.
The embassies located in Beijing hang Ukrainian flags on the walls of buildings, inscriptions in Chinese and English with words of support, such as #StandWithUkraine. Among them are the embassies of Canada, Germany and Poland.
China reacted to this and stated that it is not necessary to show support in this way in order to "avoid the emergence of conflicts between states." However, foreign diplomats decided not to remove the banners.
Chinaʼs message to the embassies also stated that they are "obliged to abide by Chinese laws and regulations," despite Beijingʼs respect for diplomatic immunity. This may also apply to flying flags in support of the LGBT community.
- The other day, China reported that its special representative will arrive in Ukraine to discuss the "political settlement" of Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. The special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian issues Li Hui will also visit Poland, France, Germany and Russia.
- A month ago, the Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shae questioned the sovereignty of the former republics of the Soviet Union. When asked who owns Crimea, Schae stated that it was not an easy question and said that the occupied peninsula was "Russian from the beginning". Then the spokeswoman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning was forced to respond to the indignation of Europe and declared that China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of "all countries", adhering to the UN Charter.
- On February 24, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China published a "peace plan" for the settlement of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Beijing called for negotiations with Russia. The plan consists of 12 principles, which, according to the authors, should contribute to the end of the Russian Federationʼs war against Ukraine. The word "war" is not used in the document — in the English version of the document, the authors use the words "conflict" and "Ukrainian crisis". The plan also includes a clause on respecting the sovereignty of "all countries" and ending "unilateral sanctions."