Nepal is investigating how copies of a book authored by Chinese President Xi Jinping were burned at a university in the east of the country, following concerns raised by the Chinese embassy.
The incident, which occurred last Saturday at Morang's Manmohan Technical University (MTU), has prompted local authorities to launch a formal inquiry.
Inquiry Panel Set Up
Yuvaraj Kattel, chief district officer of Morang, said a five-member panel has been given 15 days to determine how the copies of The Governance of China, a multi-volume collection of Xi's speeches and writings outlining his political philosophy, were destroyed.
'It has been asked to find out who was responsible for this and recommend measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future,' Kattel told Reuters.
MTU Vice Chancellor Subash Shree Pokhrel said the books were 'inadvertently' destroyed during a cleanup of a room containing old papers and cartons that had been damaged by termites. 'We had no intention to hurt our friendly relations with China and destroy the book,' he added.
China and Nepal Relations
Beijing is a major trading partner and donor, and has invested in infrastructure such as airports, roads and health in Nepal, a natural buffer between China and India, both of which jostle for influence in the Himalayan nation.
Chinese officials in Kathmandu have yet to comment publicly on the matter. Meanwhile, the inquiry panel will submit its findings within two weeks, a process officials say will clarify the circumstances behind the destruction and recommend safeguards against similar incidents in the future.
The controversy underscores the careful diplomatic tightrope Nepal must walk with China, highlighting how symbolic acts—even unintended ones like the destruction of books—can carry broader geopolitical significance in the Himalayan nation.
(With inputs from Reuters)