China silent on exit of Nepal PM Oli amid riots

Beijing, Sep 9 (PTI) China has yet to officially react to the fall of Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, regarded as its steadfast ally, and the prevailing violent student movement against the political class of Nepal.

Oli resigned as prime minister on Tuesday in the face of massive anti-government protests with the demonstrators attacking private residences of several high-profile leaders, headquarters of political parties and even vandalising the parliament, a day after 19 people died in police action against the agitators.

His downfall followed days after his high-profile visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin and the Chinese military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan in World War II.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency carried a brief report of Oli's resignation and news of protests breaking out in Nepal on Monday in Kathmandu and other parts of the country.

Oli is the second leader of a South Asian country after former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina to quit amid a riotous situation after their visits to China.

Hasina fled to India on August 5 last year after massive student protests erupted over the alleged corruption and misrule of her Awami League government, days after her return from a high-profile visit to Beijing.

For China, the disgraceful exit of Oli, regarded as a pro-Beijing leader for his efforts to reshape Nepal’s traditionally India-friendly foreign policy towards China, was reminiscent of the fall of the Rajapaksa family rule in Sri Lanka.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned as president in 2022 following massive public protests over his misrule and corruption accumulated over the years by their family leading to the bankruptcy of the country.

The entire Rajapaksa family bore the brunt of the riots that followed.

Like Oli, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as president from 2005 to 2015, drastically tilted his country’s foreign policy towards China after permitting huge Chinese investments under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the Hambantota port which China subsequently acquired for a 99-year period lease as a debt swap.

Oli has signed a transit treaty with China to secure supplies to landlocked Nepal to reduce dependence on India and backed China-Nepal railway project through Tibet.

Oli’s recent visit to China attracted strong criticism back home for attending the V-day parade despite objections from Japan which was a major aid donor for Nepal.

His endorsement of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) during his meeting with Xi also drew sharp criticism at home.

“Successive Nepali governments have declined to be a part of the GSI, a Chinese security construct that is believed to have emerged as a counterweight to the global American military dominance,” an editorial in Kathmandu Post newspaper said commenting on the just concluded visit of Oli to Beijing.

“Nepali Prime Minister Oli seemed to be bending over backwards to please the Chinese, even agreeing to attend their explicitly anti-Japan parade in Beijing. The prime minister’s decision to attend the event could have far-reaching consequences on Nepal’s ties with Japan, among its most trusted international partners,” the editorial said. PTI KJV GSP GSP