‘It was an act of thuggery’: Campaigners say Chinese officials filmed beating protester at Manchester consulate must face justice
- Chinese officials were filmed dragging a peaceful protester into consulate
- Policeman said man had been ‘punched and kicked’ and needed to go to hospital
- Police pledged to explore ‘all viable avenues’ to bring the officials to justice
- Benedict Rogers, of the campaign group Hong Kong Watch, branded the attack an ‘appalling act of thuggery’ which ‘cannot go unpunished’
Chinese officials filmed dragging a peaceful protester into the Manchester consulate and beating him must pay for the ‘appalling act of thuggery’, campaigners said yesterday.
In shocking scenes likened to the crushing of dissent in Hong Kong and mainland China, the victim was snatched from the street and assaulted by men in riot gear.
Risking a diplomatic incident, a policeman entered and rescued the protester, who told Voice of America he had been ‘punched and kicked’, with hair ‘pulled from [his] head’, needing hospital treatment.
Without permission from ambassadors or heads of mission, people cannot usually enter consulates.
Chinese officials filmed dragging a peaceful protester into the Manchester consulate and beating him must pay for the ‘appalling act of thuggery’, campaigners said yesterday
Police yesterday pledged to explore ‘all viable avenues’ to bring the officials to justice for Sunday’s attack.
But the consulate hit back, saying a poster mocking President Xi Jinping, which around 40 protesters had set up outside, had been an ‘intolerable’ insult.
Footage shows at least five people bursting out of the consulate, ripping down the poster and trying to drag protesters inside the compound, before laying into one individual.
The protester – referred to as ‘Bob’ to protect his identity – told BBC Chinese it was ‘ridiculous’ that officials had been able to attack him in the UK.
Protestors had put up pro-democracy posters before the altercation began on the streets
‘We are supposed to have freedom to say whatever we want here,’ added the man, who fled to Britain from Hong Kong last year.
Benedict Rogers, of the campaign group Hong Kong Watch, branded the attack an ‘appalling act of thuggery’ which ‘cannot go unpunished’. He added that if the officials responsible cannot be prosecuted, they should be expelled ‘without delay’.
Alicia Kearns, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, suggested Consul-General Zheng Xiyuan himself may have been involved.
No arrests have so far been made.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the consulate have so far not commented.
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