Chinese ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi on Tuesday intensified talks with leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party as Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli faced mounting pressure to step down.
Hou met senior leaders and former Prime Ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal during the last two days as hectic power sharing talks were underway between Oli and a dissident group led by the ruling party’s executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda.
The political future of 68-year-old Oli, known for his pro-Beijing leanings, will be decided on Wednesday at the ruling party’s Standing Committee meeting.
During the 45-minute meeting with Khanal on Tuesday, Hou expressed concern over disputes that has surfaced within the ruling party and urged all parties to resolve their differences.
On Sunday, the Chinese ambassador met Madhav Kumar Nepal and discussed the current political situation. She also called on President Bidya Devi Bhandari on the same day.
Both Madhav Nepal and Khanal’s aides confirmed that Hou held talks with the leaders. A number of political party leaders have termed the Chinese envoy’s meetings with the ruling party leaders as interference in Nepal’s internal affairs.
“Will the democratic republic operated through a remote control benefit Nepalese people?” former foreign minister and Rastriya Prajatantra Party chairman Kamala Thapa tweeted. “We strongly refute all theories that the internal dynamics and phenomenon here in our country, even today, are dictated by this or that foreign forces,” tweeted NCP spokesman Narayankaji Shrestha.