THE Chinese ambassador has declined an invitation to attend a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, when the controversy over Chinese orphanages is to be discussed.
Ms Fan Huijuan had been expected to address the committee on the imprisonment of the Chinese dissident, Mr Wei Jingsheng.
The invitation was sent to Ms Huijuan before Christmas. Her letter of regret was received by the committee last week. The committee chairman, Mr Alan Dukes TD, said he would raise the issue of the ill treatment of babies and children in Chinese orphanages.
The plight of handicapped and girl children who were apparently abandoned by their parents has been the focus of much angry debate following the showing of Channel 4's programme Return to the Dying Rooms last Tuesday.
The programme, which showed severely malnourished children and babies tied to cots or pottychairs was filmed in Shanghai and in other areas of China.
The film produced an outpouring of concern and anger among the public. In particular, it prompted Mr Eugene McDonald and Ms Sally Keaveney to organise one of the largest protest meetings seen recently in Dublin. During Saturday afternoon an estimated 1,400 people blocked Ailesbury Road outside the Chinese embassy.
They were addressed by Senator Joe Doyle of Fine Gael, Mr Sean Haughey TD of Fianna Fail and Ms Roisin Shortall TD of Labour. They also met the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Gay Mitchell.
Mr Mitchell promised that he would present a copy of the Channel 4 film to the secretary general of the Council of Europe when he is in Strasbourg tomorrow. He would also leave copies of the film on the desks of the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste, both of whom were out of the State last week, and raise the issue with Irish representatives on the EU troika due to visit to Beijing soon.