Chinese Ambassador says Georgia’s transparency law “matter of domestic politics”

Zhou Qian, the Chinese Ambassador to Georgia, on Friday said the controversial law on transparency of foreign influence, adopted by the Georgian Parliament, was a “matter of domestic politics”.

Zhou said his Government avoiding interference in the internal politics of Georgia meant it “respected the country's sovereignty”.

The law of transparency, which was adopted by the Georgian side, is completely a matter of domestic politics. One of the main principles of China is that it does not interfere in the internal politics of other countries, and I cannot make such a specific statement”, the diplomat said.

“We respect the internal politics of other countries. If we do not interfere in the internal politics of Georgia, it means that we respect the sovereignty of the country”, he added.

The Parliament on Tuesday adopted the bill reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.

The legislative piece, which calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, was supported by 84 MPs in the 150-member lawmaking body, with 30 voting against.

It requires groups “considered to be an organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power” to be registered in the public registry with the status and publicise their received funding.