Speaker for the 42nd Parliament of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Raj Chouhan is seen in the Legislature in Victoria, B.C, on Dec. 7, 2020. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)
by
The Epoch Times
April 4, 2023
The Speaker of the B.C. Legislative Assembly said concerns about his office being influenced by foreign interests are “incorrect,” as the opposition calls for a probe into whether complaints from the Chinese Consulate about Tibetans visiting the legislature had prompted the speaker’s office to deny a visit by another group of Buddhist monks.
On Feb. 15, a group of Tibetans visited the legislature, including Penpa Tsering, president-elect of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Tsering posted photos on social media, saying it was his first “official visit” to the B.C. legislature, which was part of his tour of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom earlier this year.
The visit, however, drew protestations from the Chinese Consulate, which echoed Beijing’s position of denouncing the Tibetan government-in-exile in comments to Postmedia News, calling Tsering a “Tibetan separatist.”
The office of the Speaker of the B.C. Legislative Assembly later reportedly rejected a BC Liberals’ request to host another event inviting a delegation of Buddhist monks to the legislature. While that decision was later reversed, the initial rejection prompted Liberal House Leader Todd Stone to question whether it was affected by the complaint from the Chinese Consulate.
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