British parliamentarians who have been sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime have argued that the CCP should be barred from attending the coronation of King Charles III, who became king after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Charles and his wife will be formally crowned at a ceremony to be held at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a senior Conservative MP who was sanctioned by Beijing in 2021 for speaking out against the CCP’s abuse of Uyghur Muslims, said he objects to the CCP’s attendance “personally, because I’m sanctioned by them and I think they’re guilty of genocide and a whole litany of crimes against humanity.” Beijing’s “threats to Taiwan” and “tacit support of Russia” were further reasons Duncan Smith said he opposed an invitation for China to the May event.
Lord Alton, a crossbench member of the House of Lords who was also sanctioned by the regime, said the coronation is “the ultimate celebration of our constitutional parliamentary democracy and everything which runs counter to Chinese Communist Party dictatorship,” and that Chinese dignitaries “should not be accorded the usual diplomatic niceties.” He added that China’s involvement “would send out confusing and contradictory signals.”
In the run-up of the state funeral, some of the sanctioned lawmakers raised concerns about the Chinese delegation’s invitation to the Queen’s funeral, calling it “extraordinary.” They said they were “greatly concerned” to hear that “the government of China has been invited to attend the state funeral…despite other countries Russia, Belarus, and Myanmar being excluded.”
The sanctioned parliamentarians eventually succeeded in getting the Chinese ambassador banned from the House of Parliament. In response to the protest, the Speakers of both houses agreed that a meeting with the ambassador should take place elsewhere, considering the current sanctions against members.