As countries across the world are struggling to tackle the menace of Wuhan coronavirus, obstreperous Chinese nationals stranded in Nepal seem to have taken a leaf out of their communist government’s book by bullying officials from other countries.
A group of Chinese nationals marooned in Nepal due to the ongoing travel restrictions following the coronavirus outbreak came to blows with the Nepal police in a bid to reach Prime Minister’s office in Kathmandu. The unruly group resorted to stone-pelting against the officials after which 47 of them were taken into custody.
Chinese nationals stranded in Kathmandu due to lockdown protest in front of Nepal’s administrative headquarter. Two chinese four police injured in clash. pic.twitter.com/fde4GAJ8In
— Ashok Dahal (@ashokpillar) May 8, 2020
As can be seen in the video, the belligerence exhibited by foreign diplomats of the Communist Party of China has seemingly rubbed off on its citizens as well who are running riot on the streets of Kathmandu and attacking the Nepal police. When the police officials stop the Chinese in front of Nepal’s administrative headquarter, many amongst the group berate the security personnel before launching into a violent attack against them. The police officials baton-charge some of them to disperse the crowd but the Chinese citizens continue to pound blows to the police officers.
Four police personnel have sustained injuries in the clashes. “Four police personnel, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Haribahadur Basnet, were injured in the skirmish when the protestors entered a prohibited zone,” Superintendent of Nepal Police, Somendra Singh Rathore.
Police claim that their efforts to influence the Chinese nationals to stop their protests and not violate the restrictive orders did not persuade them to leave the region. Some of the protesters wielded placards that said: “I want to go home”. However, the protest turned violent when the police officers prevented the demonstrators from entering a prohibited zone of Singha Darbar that also encloses the Prime Minister’s office.
According to the reports, the Chinese citizens were stranded in Nepal because of the flight restrictions enforced by the Himalayan nation on March 22 as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus. The restive Chinese nationals had reportedly run out of money and had no means to stay in the country any longer. Their embassy was unable to help them, reports said.
Chinese embassy calls upon Nepal to protect legitimate rights of Chinese nationals
The Chinese embassy has urged its citizens to abide by the lockdown measures instituted by the Nepali government and has asked the Himalayan nation of safeguarding the legitimate rights of the stranded Chinese nationals.
“Due to the large number of the Chinese citizens stranded in Nepal, the Chinese side has coordinated and arranged temporary flights to take about 340 persons with difficulties back to China,” said the embassy.
The embassy claimed that due to the limited seat capacity in the flights, some Chinese were still stuck in Nepal, especially after Nepal announced suspension of regular international flights till May 31.
Out of the 47 Chinese citizens who were arrested for clashing out with the police, 43 of them were released on Friday evening while the remaining four are facing indecent behaviour charges for attacking security personnel.
