Coronavirus Germany: Chinese Diplomats Pushed Officials To Praise Beijing’s Handling Of Crisis, Letter Says

The German Interior Ministry claimed in a letter that Chinese diplomats pushed German officials to praise Beijing’s handling of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported Sunday.

“The German government is aware of individual contacts made by Chinese diplomats with the aim of effecting positive public statements on the coronavirus management by the People’s Republic of China,” the letter reportedly says.

“The federal government has not complied with these requests,” the correspondence, dated on April 22, continued.

The letter was sent to German lawmaker Margarete Bause, who had asked if Beijing was contacting German officials to make positive comments regarding China’s handling of the virus.

Bause represents Munich in the country’s parliament, formally known as the Bundestag. She is a frequent critic of the Chinese government. In August, Bause alleged that China was “encroaching” on Germany’s democratic system after Beijing threatened to ban a parliamentary committee of German lawmakers from visiting China if she was a part of the delegation.

"This is an encroachment on the rights of a freely elected parliament, one which the German Bundestag cannot tolerate," she told German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Bause has frequently criticized China for its human rights record and mistreatment of the Uighur Muslim minority.

China has been sensitive about coronavirus coverage by media organizations in Germany.

Bild, Germany’s largest newspaper, published an article in April demanding billions of euros in reparations from China due to the effect of the virus on the German economy and financial system. In response, China’s Embassy in Berlin accused the newspaper of “stirring up nationalism” and prejudice towards China in an angry letter.

Germany has had a relatively high number of coronavirus cases in Europe but has had fewer deaths than other hotspots in the continent. As of Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET, there are 157,120 cases of the virus in Germany, with the country’s death toll at 5,896.