KATHMANDU: It has now been proven that as the feud within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) heightens, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi becomes proactive in Kathmandu as she makes harried moves to visit NCP big-wigs.

With the NCP leaders clustered in two different camps – one led by Prime Minister KP Oli and the other led by NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and backed by senior leaders Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal, Vice Chairman Bam Dev Gautam, among others – Chinese envoy to Nepal Hou held talks with NCP senior leader Nepal at the latter’s residence in Koteswor on Sunday evening.

Political observers have to note that China, like in the past, has been particularly concerned over the row within the ruling NCP, and the latest political developments here in Nepal.

Observers in Nepal dub the ambassador’s moves as unusual while some have taken it an apparent move as this is a mere continuation of such initiations that have taken in the past.

Nepali Congress leader Dhan Raj Gurung taking to social media labels the Chinese Ambassador’s move as an ‘interference’ in Nepal’s internal political affairs. Gurung has suggested NCP leaders refrain from dragging the Nepali Congress party into controversy alleging it of trying to take advantage of the fluid situation within the NCP.

He suggests NCP leaders refrain from criticizing Nepali Congress leaders. “Try to mend your ways if you can. Do not drag others into controversy,” he has said expressing sarcasm over the frantic moves of Chinese Ambassador Yanqi to settle the NCP disputes.

For instance, former Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya has taken to Twitter to dub Ambassador Yanqi’s moves as ‘Fevicol’ (glue). Acharya floats a sarcastic remark saying: “Who says this Fevicol can’t fix things?”

Even former Chairman of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Dharmendra Jha has taken to social media criticizing Nepali political leaders of not being able to settle party disputes on their own.

Likewise, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Mohan Shrestha dubs Chinese envoy’s steps as direct intervention. “Be it the country’s internal affairs or a party’s. Interference is interference,” Shrestha has said.

In fact, Ambassador Yanqi’s meeting with NCP leader Nepal has been taken significantly at a time when NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, senior leaders Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal and party Vice-Chairman Bamdev Gautam are hell-bent on ousting Prime Minister KP Oli amid intra-party wrangling, especially after PM Oli alleged them of dancing to the tunes of India to oust him.

The dissident camp, comprising Dahal, Nepal, Khanal, and Gautam, is adamant to their stance that PM Oli should step down as he failed to stick to previous agreements reached between Oli and Dahal.

It should be recalled that Ambassador Yanqi had in the first week of May played a crucial role to avert possible party split.

She has also been said to have held clandestine meetings with Nepali businessmen, political leaders and others at a hotel in Thamel.

The intra-party feud in the ruling NCP has heightened after leaders are divided between Chairman Dahal-Nepal camp and Prime Minister Oli group over internal power-sharing issue.

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