April 19, 2024

Balkan Travellers

Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, aggregated from sources all over the world

Chinese consulate staff in Manchester attack a pro-Hong Kong protester

Chinese consulate staff in Manchester attack a pro-Hong Kong protester

British lawmakers and rights activists called for an investigation on Monday into the case of a Hong Kong protester who was taken to the Chinese consulate in Manchester and beaten by staff after he demonstrated against the Chinese government.

According to the Hong Kong Indigenous Defense Force, which organized a rally coinciding with Opening meeting of the Communist Party of China in Beijing On Sunday, the protester was among about 60 people who gathered outside the consulate to demonstrate against Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Protest banners and flags calling for Hong Kong independence were raised outside the consulate. One of the posters was a picture of Xi standing in front of a mirror wearing nothing but a tiara and a pair of boxers – a play on the tale of the emperor’s new clothes.

Xi presents China as humanity’s “new choice” as he prepares for the next term

When a protester began speaking, staff in riot gear walked out of the consulate and attempted to confiscate the protesters’ poster, according to a statement from the group. One protester was only identified by the group as Bob was raising the plate when he was dragged into the Consulate, where he was beaten by a group of men.

Jimmy Chin, a 19-year-old who was at the rally, said he saw the protester enter through a gate into the consulate where he was attacked for about 30 seconds before a British police officer intervened and dragged him outside.

“The event was quiet until several people in bulletproof vests came out of the consulate and started tearing down the posters,” he said. Some protesters tried to stop them and pushed back, and they ended up fighting.”

See also  The Israeli military is close to "full operational control" of northern Gaza in the war against Hamas, officials said

Video captured at the scene showed the men punching the protester and holding him to the ground. According to the rally organisers, After the British police stopped the attack And they set up a cordon between the demonstrators and the consulate employees.

The organization said that the injured protester was taken to the hospital and his condition is stable. The Chinese consulate in Manchester confirmed the incident to The Washington Post, but declined to comment further. The Chinese embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.

“Had the UK police not intervened today, or if the rally had been held in Hong Kong or China, I fear that peaceful protesters like us would have already vanished,” the protester said, according to the group’s statement.

On Monday, several British members of Parliament He called on the authorities to investigate the incident. Alicia Kearns, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called for the Chinese ambassador to be recalled and any consular member involved in the beatings expelled from the country. Former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan Smith has demanded a full apology from the Chinese ambassador.

Xi, who is expected to secure a third term at the party congress that began on Sunday, has overseen a brutal crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement that culminated in a far-reaching rally. National Security Law which severely curtailed the active democratic movement in the city.

See also  Norma makes landfall near Los Cabos Resorts in Mexico