Ambassador of People’s Republic of China to Nepal intimidated a noted journalist in a conversation through his post on X (twitter). Chief editor at https://taksarnews.com/ Gajendra Budhathoki wrote a post on X on May 27 about interest rate for loan from the Chinese government for construction of Pokhara International Airport, Pokhara. On the post, Ambassador Chen Song accused Budhathoki of posting the worst lie and challenged him to furnish clarification over his post with proof on May 28. Again on May 29 early morning, the ambassador replied in the same thread, “We demand a formal apology from you and whoever people you represent.” In response to this thread, Budhathoki replied that he would publish the information in detail soon and that his post was based on official documents from the Nepal Government. To this, Freedom Forum’s Chief Executive Taranath Dahal observed, "It is quite strange that a foreign ambassador wants apology from a noted investigative journalist over a social media post in the host country. He could disagree with journalist’s point. Such intimidation is deplorable." Freedom Forum condemns the ambassador’s behavior towards a journalist on the twitter. His replies to the journalist’s post is against the diplomatic etiquette and a sheer violation freedom of expression. Being a diplomat, the ambassador should cooperate with journalist to publish the credible information rather than intimidation.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
