A group of Hong Kong protesters staged a protest outside the embassy on the opening day of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing this week.
In a video shared on social media, a group of Hong Kong protesters appeared to be assaulted after dragging one of them into the embassy. A police officer then entered the embassy and removed the protester.
The video depicts a man being dragged into the Chinese consulate and beaten by consulate staff after protesting outside the council in Manchester, England. The man in a cap and blue scarf is Chinese Consul General Zheng Xuan. https://t.co/SNSNLCbzQA
— Bethany 貝書穎 (@BethanyAllenEbr) October 17, 2022
Manchester Police said in a statement: “Enquiries are ongoing to understand what happened.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said today that he was not aware of the situation.
Chinese Consul-General Zheng Xuan, left, drags an assaulted Hong Kong protester by the hair inside the Chinese Embassy in Manchester.
He was to be immediately expelled from England, and the Chinese ambassador was summoned to explain these shocking acts. pic.twitter.com/6vPgTXwwNN
— Robert Clark (@RobertClark87) October 17, 2022
“The Chinese embassy and consulates in the United Kingdom always comply with the country’s law,” he told a press conference. “We hope that the British side will facilitate the normal operation of the Chinese Embassy and diplomatic functions in the UK in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” he said.
The video has been shared by several UK lawmakers, who have called for an investigation into the diplomats’ involvement.
“The UK government should issue a full apology to the Chinese ambassador and send those responsible back to China,” Conservative MP Ian Duncan Smith wrote on Twitter.
Prominent Hong Kong activists also spoke about the case. Former lawmaker and pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, who fled to the UK in 2020, wrote on Twitter that “Hong Kongers will live in fear of abduction and persecution unless responsible consular staff are held to account.”
The Act urged the British government to investigate the incident and protect pro-democracy activists in England.
Britain took in thousands of Hong Kong citizens, many of whom fled the territory after introducing a sweeping national security law in 2020 that critics say ended the former British colony’s autonomy.
About 60 protesters gathered outside the Manchester embassy against “the re-election of Xi Jinping,” according to a statement released by protest organizers.
Xi is expected to be sworn in for a third term during the congress, breaking the political tradition of recent decades in China.
Since assuming leadership in 2012, Xi has become the center of Chinese politics. He is now considered one of the strongest leaders in the country’s recent history, comparable to the founder of the People’s Republic, Mao Zedong.
In his opening address to Congress, the Chinese leader said measures taken in Hong Kong after 2019 pro-democracy protests had restored order and ensured the semi-autonomous region was ruled by patriots.
Hong Kong “has entered a new phase where it has regained order and is ready to prosper,” he said.
Also read: Xi Jinping expects “greater contribution” from Macau and Hong Kong
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