The MP from "Continuing Change - Democratic Bulgaria" Yavor Bozhankov has filed a complaint with the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over unprecedented diplomatic pressure. The MP claims that representatives of the Chinese embassy in our country attempted to control his participation in the international forum Yushan Forum in Taiwan, by giving him instructions on whom to meet and monitoring his travel.
The tension escalated weeks earlier after an Atlantic Club event dedicated to disinformation surrounding the war in Ukraine, which was also attended by an official representative of Taipei. Soon after, Yavor Bozhankov received an invitation for an urgent meeting with the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Bulgaria.
According to the MP's account, during the conversation the diplomat drew a direct parallel between Beijing's relations with Taiwan and those of Bulgaria with North Macedonia. Bozhankov categorically rejected the comparison. Then the conversation took on an imperative tone, and according to Bozhankov he was told: "I expect not to see you at events with official representatives of Taiwan anymore".
Despite the warning, the MP left for Taipei together with Dr. Solomon Passy. During the trip itself, however, communication with the embassy continued in the form of text messages. According to Bozhankov, Chinese diplomats define the forum as a "platform for provocative efforts for independence", and his participation itself as support for "separatism".
Especially worrying for the MP is the fact that the foreign mission had accurate information about his route, although he did not announce it publicly. When asked how they knew about the visit, the embassy laconically replied that it was a matter of rumors.
In his official signal to the services, Yavor Bozhankov raises the question of how a foreign country has data on the movement of a Bulgarian MP and whether there has been a leak of information. He insists that SANS check whether this is an unregulated access to communications or illegal collection of information.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to request official explanations from the ambassador and assess whether his actions do not violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
"Bulgaria is a sovereign state. And Bulgarian MPs are not accountable to foreign diplomatic missions," states Yavor Bojankov, emphasizing that the case is institutional, not personal, and concerns the protection of national sovereignty.
Source: www.dunavmost.com