Last Tuesday China’s Ambassador to Tonga Fan Guijing walked out of the opening of the CBA conference in protest, after the association’s vice president, Mano Wikranamayke, raised China’s suppression of information about last year’s melamine milk contamination.
He demanded an apology from Wikranamayke.
CBA Secretary General Elizabeth Smith said they have sent a note Fan, assuring him that the vice president’s address did not have the support of the conference’s host, the Tongan Broadcasting Corp.
The CBA expressed regret at the embarrassment caused at the event, but stressed that it has not changed its position on China’s press environment.
“We continue to stand by our remarks, and we continue to support media freedom” said Smith.
China is one of the biggest providers of aid to Tonga, and paid for the construction of the center where the CBA conference is being held.
