Nepal investigating burning of Xi Jinping's book at university

Nepal is investigating how some copies of a book authored by Chinese President Xi Jinping were burned at a university in the east of the country after the Chinese embassy expressed concern over the incident, officials said on Thursday.

Yuvaraj Kattel, chief district officer of Morang where the incident took place last Saturday, said a five-member panel had been given 15 days to find out how copies of Xi’s book "The Governance of China" were burned at the district's Manmohan Technical University (MTU).

Beijing is a major trading partner and donor, and has invested in infrastructure such as airports, roads and health in Nepal, a natural buffer between China and India, both of which jostle for influence in the Himalayan nation.

"The Governance of China" is a multi-volume collection of Xi's speeches and writings outlining his political philosophy and vision for government.

“It has been asked to find out who was responsible for this and recommend measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future,” Kattel told Reuters.

The Chinese embassy in Kathmandu did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Subash Shree Pokhrel, MTU vice chancellor, said several copies of Xi's book were “inadvertently” destroyed as authorities cleared a room of books, old papers and cartons that had been attacked by termites.

“We had no intention to hurt our friendly relations with China and destroy the book,” Pokhrel said.

-Gopal Sharma/Reuters