In response to violence during a Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstration outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, when a man seemed to be hauled into the consular grounds and attacked, the United Kingdom has summoned a senior Chinese diplomat in this regard.
The event, which happened at a protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping, is being looked into by British police. Greater Manchester Police officers entered the grounds of the consulate to save a guy who, according to them, “was dragged” inside and assaulted by numerous individuals.
Foreign office minister Zac Goldsmith stated, “We have major concerns about the footage we have viewed depicting an incident at the Chinese Consulate-General.
The right to peaceful protest in the UK must be protected, he continued, and “today we have made this clear to the Chinese authorities.”
Charge d’Affaires Yang Xiaoguang was called to the foreign ministry to discuss the issue because China’s ambassador to the UK is not currently present in the nation. All diplomats and consular personnel are required to abide by UK rules and regulations, according to a foreign office officer he met.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, had earlier laid the blame for the event at the demonstrators’ feet in Beijing.
At a daily news briefing, he declared that “unsettling elements illegally entered the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester and jeopardised the security of Chinese diplomatic property.”
“Diplomatic institutions of any nation should have the right to take such steps as are required to preserve the tranquility and honour of their premises.”
A grey-haired man in a hat and face mask was seen in video footage from the event kicking protestors’ banners, one of which featured an almost naked Xi in a crown, and tussling with a group of protesters outside the consulate’s gates.
Then, as a police officer attempted to stop the attack, a group of guys were seen hitting a demonstrator who was laying on the ground inside the mission’s gates. A man was also seen being dragged towards the grounds by one group of men while police and other demonstrators attempted to take him away from the scene, as seen in photos of the altercations.
Speaking before parliament, Chinese Consul-General Zheng Xiyuan, one of China’s most senior diplomats in the UK, was accused of being present by Alicia Kearns, the recently appointed chair of the UK parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
Later, she posted on Twitter, “Those implicated should be expelled or charged within the week.”
The accusations against Zheng have received no response from China.
