Secret meeting between German politician and Ai Weiwei violated protocol: analyst

By Bai Tiantian and Li Aixin Source:Global Times Published: 2014-11-27 0:23:01

The secret meeting between a visiting German politician and dissident artist Ai Weiwei on Sunday in Beijing is a clear violation of the diplomatic code of conduct and was arranged for the politician's personal agenda, analysts said.

Margarete Bause, a leader of the Green Party in the Bavarian Parliament, arranged a secret meeting with Ai Weiwei on Sunday while she was visiting Beijing as a member of an official delegation led by Horst Seehofer, minister-president of Bavaria.

According to Der Spiegel, Bause arranged the meeting through a personal friend, without notifying either Seehofer or the Chinese government.

Der Spiegel said that Bause's move was driven out of curiosity of the artist and was meant to remind Seehofer of the importance of human rights issues.

She and Ai Weiwei allegedly talked for an hour.

"Bause's move has clearly violated the code of diplomatic conduct since she was on an official trip. Her behavior showed no respect to the host country China nor to her delegation leader," an analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Global Times.

German media described the meeting "a slap on the face" of Seehofer and said Bause had sabotaged Seehofer's plan to leave a good impression on China.

It was reported that Seehofer was upset by Bause's behavior. After meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, he allegedly blamed Bause, saying that her behavior was "too relaxed."

"Bause has her own political agenda. Meeting with Ai will help her career, a behavior shaped by Germany's political environment," said the analyst.

Marcus Bleinroth, the German Embassy spokesperson in Beijing, told the Global Times that the embassy does not comment on the event.

"[Margarete Bause] organized the meeting with Ai Weiwei through private channels, so it's her private business," Bleinroth said, adding that she is not from Seehofer's party.

However, the spokesperson believes that Seehofer's visit was successful as he had met both Premier Li and Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang.

Ai Weiwei could not be reached for comment as of press time.



Posted in: Diplomacy

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