A Chinese government delegation will not be allowed to attend the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle rejected a request by Chinese officials for entering Westminster Hall due to Chinese sanctions against five MPs and two peers. Queen Elizabeth II lies in state there until her funeral on Monday.
The move came after China imposed travel bans and asset freezes on nine Britons last year for accusing Beijing of mistreating Uighur Muslims. The diplomatic tussle continued after United Kingdom’s first ban on Chinese ambassador extended to the Chinese delegation intended to pay their respects to the Queen. After Beijing sanctioned various UK politicians, as they were being critical of its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, in 2021 the Commons and Lords speakers banned Chinese envoy Zheng Zeguang to UK.
The heads of state who are invited to attend the lying-in-state will also sign a book of condolences at Lancaster House. However, China’s vice-president is expected to attend Monday’s state funeral. The Lord Great Chamberlain, who is chosen by the monarch, and the speakers of the Commons and the Lords would share authority of Westminster Hall, according to the parliamentary rulebook Erskine May, which states that Queen Elizabeth II agreed to this arrangement in 1965.
Although there is no mention of access restrictions for events like lying-in-states, all three parties “ordinarily” agree to give invitations to foreign dignitaries to speak to both Houses in Westminster Hall.
The ban and sanctions are still in place. On Thursday, the group of seven MPs and peers, that include ex-Tory ministers Iain Duncan Smith and Tim Loughton, urged the Foreign Secretary to withhold an invitation to Chinese President Xi to attend the Queen’s funeral.
According to them, it would be “wholly inappropriate” for the Chinese government to be represented, given its human rights record.
A number of Western nations have put penalties on Chinese officials in response to claims that China has been violating human rights of Muslim Uighur group. China has jailed Uighurs in camps at northwestern Xinjiang province where charges of sexual abuse, forced labour, and torture have surfaced.
