27 April 2023 , 12:32
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Senior Tories have lashed out at the "outrageous" decision to invite the Chinese architect of the crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests to the King's Coronation.
Han Zheng, who was recently appointed as president Xi Jinping's deputy, will represent China at the historic event on May 6, according to Politico.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith described him as "responsible for trashing" China's Hong Kong treaty with Britain by overseeing a crackdown on demonstrations in 2019.
Sir Iain, an anti-China critic who has been sanctioned by Beijing, said: "This is the man responsible for trashing the international treaty - the Sino British accord. In the course of which the Hong Kong authorities have persecuted peaceful democracy campaigners.
"Having this man here given his role is outrageous."
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Conservative Tim Loughton said his presence would be "an insult to the freedom loving people" of Hong Kong.
Han Zheng will represent China at the King's Coronation on May 6 (Bloomberg via Getty Images)Mr Han led Hong Kong affairs for Beijing between 2018 and March this year, during which time it imposed the national security law following mass protests in the city, stifling opposition and criminalising dissent.
The move strained relations with the UK, and led to the creation of a visa scheme allowing Hong Kongers to come to Britain.
The decision comes after concerns were raised when an invitation to the Queen's funeral was extended to representatives from China last September.
Mr Han's predecessor, Wang Qishan, represented Beijing at the state funeral, while a delegation from the country also attended the Queen's lying in state in Westminster Hall.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said it was up to China who they sent to the coronation.
"We don't invite individuals, what we do is we invite a representative or two representatives from each country with which we have a diplomatic relationship," he told TimesRadio.
People walk along the Mall where British and Commonwealth countries flags have been put, ahead of the coronation of King Charles III (Alberto Pezzali/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"That includes China, who China sends, indeed which person any country sends as their representative at the coronation is rightly a decision for that country."
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "On international invites there is advice from the Foreign Office to the Palace and obviously there is a wider list that is drawn up by the Royal Household."
Yesterday, Downing Street said it wasn't aware of any plans for Rishi Sunak to meet Mr Han.
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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which declined to comment, has extended invitations to the coronation to the heads of state of all nations with whom the UK has full diplomatic relations.
The UK says China remains in breach of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, under which it had a duty to uphold Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms.
Hong Kong was handed over from the UK to China in 1997 with a promise by Beijing to keep Western-style liberties under a "one country, two systems" framework.
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