British lawmakers and rights activists called for an investigation Monday into the case of a Hong Kong protester who was dragged into the Chinese Consulate in Manchester and beaten by staffers after he demonstrated against the Chinese government.
Hong Kong protester dragged into Chinese Consulate in Manchester and beaten
Protest banners and flags calling for Hong Kong independence were draped outside the consulate. One poster was an image of Xi standing before a mirror wearing nothing but a crown and a pair of boxers — a play on the fable of the emperor’s new clothes.
As one of the demonstrators began to speak, staff in riot gear emerged from the consulate and attempted to seize the poster from the protesters, according to a statement from the group. A demonstrator identified by the group only as Bob was holding up the painting when he was dragged into the consulate, where he was beaten by a group of men.
Jimmy Chen, a 19-year-old who was at the gathering, said he saw the protester pulled through a gate into the consulate where he was attacked for around 30 seconds before a British police officer intervened and dragged him back out.
“The event was calm until several people with bulletproof vests on came out from the consulate and started to tear down the posters,” he said. “Some protesters tried to stop them and got pushed back, so they ended up fighting.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday the consulate’s response was “necessary” and accused the protesters of jeopardizing the “security of the Chinese diplomatic premises.”
Video captured at the scene showed the men punching and holding the demonstrator down on the ground. According to rally organizers, after British police stopped the attack they set up a cordon separating protesters from the consulate staff.
The injured demonstrator was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, the group said. The Chinese Consulate in Manchester confirmed the incident to The Washington Post but declined to comment further.
“If the UK police had not intervened today, or if the assembly had taken place in Hong Kong or China, I am afraid that the peaceful protesters like us would have already been … disappeared,” the protester said, according to the group’s statement.
On Monday, several British members of Parliament called on authorities to investigate the incident. Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called for the Chinese ambassador to be summoned and for any consulate member involved in the beating to be expelled from the country. Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith demanded a full apology from the Chinese ambassador.
.@SuellaBraverman & @JamesCleverly need to urgently investigate.
The CCP will not import their beating of protestors and denial of free speech to British streets.
Chinese Ambassador should be summoned & if any official has beaten protesters, they must be expelled or prosecuted. https://t.co/q7Nh55k8fG
— Alicia Kearns (@aliciakearns) October 16, 2022
Xi, who is expected to secure a third term at the party congress that began on Sunday, oversaw a severe crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement that culminated in a far-reaching national security law that has severely curtailed the city’s once active democracy movement.
Source: WP
