{"id":27960,"date":"2026-10-25T10:28:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T04:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=27960"},"modified":"2026-10-25T10:28:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T04:43:23","slug":"journalist-questions-bidya-bhandaris-selection-for-china-governance-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=27960","title":{"rendered":"Journalist Questions Bidya Bhandari\u2019s Selection for China Governance Forum<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dragon Media Newsroom<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former President and senior CPN-UML leader Bidya Devi Bhandari\u2019s participation in the Global Governance Forum in Xiong\u2019an, China, has prompted debate over her selection and the level at which Nepal was represented. Senior journalist Khildhoj Thapa questioned on social media why a second-tier woman leader was chosen while the party\u2019s top-ranked leaders remained active.<\/p>\n

Thapa wrote: \u201cOne can more or less understand why China\u2019s President Xi chose the CPN-UML from Nepal to participate in the Global Governance Forum in Beijing. But it is difficult to understand why a second-ranked woman leader was selected when first-ranked leaders are active. Perhaps that is why the country\u2019s prominent political analysts have remained silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, available information shows that the forum was held from October 23 to 25 in Xiong\u2019an New Area, Hebei Province, not Beijing. It was organised by the Chinese People\u2019s Institute of Foreign Affairs. China\u2019s Foreign Ministry said President Xi Jinping sent a message to the forum, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended its opening ceremony and delivered the keynote address. Publicly available information does not say that Xi personally selected Bhandari or the CPN-UML.<\/p>\n

News reports, citing Bhandari\u2019s secretariat, said she attended at the invitation of the Chinese government and was scheduled to address the forum as a special guest. In her address, she called for climate justice and greater cooperation among Himalayan countries on weather data, glacier monitoring, early-warning systems and disaster response.<\/p>\n

Public reports do not clarify whether Bhandari attended as part of an official party delegation or as a former president invited in her own capacity. Her participation has drawn political comment because she is also a senior CPN-UML leader. Neither the organisers nor her secretariat has publicly explained the political significance of her invitation.<\/p>\n

The episode raises two separate questions: in what capacity was Nepal represented at the international forum, and what message did the invitation to a former president and senior party leader convey while the party\u2019s top leadership remained active? Available facts confirm Bhandari\u2019s participation and address, but do not establish the political intent behind her selection.<\/p>\n

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