The post interprets a year-old event incorrectly when Еuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the People’s Republic of China. There is no mention of her diplomatic status being revoked or any other protocol-related issues upon entering the country.And it is not true that the President visited China this year when the situation allegedly happened, writes Truthmeter.
Under the content-sharing agreement between Truthmeter.mk and Meta.mk, we republish the text in full below:
We are fact-checking the following post on the social network Facebook:
These days Ursula von der Leyen visited China.
The Chinese sent her waiting in line for passport control together with regular passengers.
Humiliation!
Refused to recognize her diplomatic status.
Why?
Because diplomats come from countries, and EU is not a country, and its functionaries may not enjoy diplomatic statuses.
The post has a few disputable facts. For starters, from what can be seen from the website of the Diplomatic Service of the European Union, the last time the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the People’s Republic of China was at the end of 2023, more precisely, during the EU – China Summit in Beijing, where the President of the European Council, Charles Michel was also present. Related to this visit, there are no announcements claiming that von der Leyen’s diplomatic status was not recognized, nor that she went through passport control like an ordinary passenger.
In addition, this was the second time the President visited China. The first visit took place in April 2023 at the same time as French President Emmanuel Macron.
Hence, here is where the confusion is created.
The digital newspaper from Washington, Politico, reports about the visit of both presidents visits – von der Leyen and Macron – specifically about the contrasting reception that was organized for them:
French President Emmanuel Macron was given the full red-carpet treatment this week in Beijing, feted at a state banquet and greeted by military parades and firing cannons on Tiananmen Square. When Macron’s plane touched down, China’s Foreign Minister personally welcomed him.
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived, she got the Ecology Minister – at the regular passenger exit.
As the photograph shows, the President of the EC was truly welcomed by the Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Ranqiu on a platform that looks like an ordinary passenger exit. Although it was reported that she was welcomed on the regular passenger exit, that does not imply that she went through regular passport control because the Chinese protocol “did not recognize her diplomatic status”.
One should mention, firstly, that the EU diplomatic missions are managed by the so-called EEAS (European External Actions Service). Although the EU and the European Commission perform diplomatic activities organized by the EEAS, they do not have a typical diplomatic status as the statespersons of a nation (for example, an ambassador), provided for by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Regardless, diplomatic protocols to exempt high officials from standard immigration procedures are usually agreed upon. Such visits are normally coordinated by the host country and the visiting delegation to secure smooth and safe visits. In the case of EU delegates, that is done with the “EU laissez passer” document.
Hence, if the protocol was directly changed or violated, making the President go through passport control for regular passengers, that would constitute a diplomatic scandal that would have been covered by the media. The fact is that no media has reported that such an event happened, and not even von der Leyen mentioned anything on the topic at the press conference at the end of the visit.
The post itself is contradictory because it states that “diplomats come from countries, and EU is not a country and its functionaries may not enjoy diplomatic statuses”, but previously claims that the non-existent diplomatic status was not recognized.
As already mentioned, the drastically different visits of President von der Leyen and President Macron cannot be disputed. To that end, Politico informs about the media atmosphere related to the visit: ”while state media trumpeted the Sino-French relationship, Chinese social media demonized von der Leyen as an American puppet”.
However, the information stated in the post is far from reality.
Hence, bearing in mind the above-noted arguments, this post is assessed as untrue. It is not true that President von der Leyen visited China this year – and it is not made clear when the alleged situation took place – nor is there any evidence that there were any problems with the protocol.
