THE CHINESE HAND

Until May, the Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, was mostly known for her ‘social media diplomacy’. Wishing success for the proposed ‘Visit Nepal Year 2020’ tourism campaign, Hou posted pictures of herself on Twitter visiting the country’s heritage spots, winning herself tremendous goodwill from Nepalis.

Hou’s meetings with Nepali politicians at a time when the government is unstable has raised eyebrows

However, things changed in May when and senior fellow at the Institute for Integrated Development Studies, a think-tank in Kathmandu.