China has made representations to Britain over an incident at its consulate general in Manchester on Monday during which police say a protester was pulled inside the grounds and beaten. Britain’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, described the actions of consulate personnel as “completely unacceptable behaviour” and Conservative MPs have called for the consul general to be expelled.
But China’s foreign ministry said the protester had entered the consulate grounds illegally and that some of its staff had been injured, calling on the British authorities to do more to protect Chinese diplomats.
Manchester police said between 30 and 40 protesters gathered outside the Chinese consulate general on Monday afternoon.
“Shortly before 4pm a small group of men came out of the building and a man was dragged into the consulate grounds and assaulted. Due to our fears for the safety of the man, officers intervened and removed the victim from the consulate grounds,” the police statement said.
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Hospitalised man
“The man aged in his 30s suffered several physical injuries and remained in hospital overnight for treatment. He is continuing to receive our support for his welfare.”
Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee at Westminster, used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to accuse consul general Zheng Xiyuan of taking part in the attack on protesters.
“Some were then dragged onto consulate territory for a further beating by officials who have been recognised to be members of the Chinese Communist Party,” she said.
“We cannot allow the CCP to import their beating of protesters, their silencing of free speech and their failure to allow time and time again protests on British soil. This is a chilling escalation.”
In a letter to police reported by the Manchester Evening News, Mr Zheng accused protesters of displaying slogans that were “deliberately designed to provoke, harass, alarm and distress” consular staff. He said one banner showed China’s President Xi Jinping with a noose around his neck and others had slogans in Chinese saying “God kill CPC” and “F**k your mother”.
‘Grabbed by the neck’
“At one point the consulate grounds were stormed by a group of protesters and members of consular staff were required to physically fend off unauthorised entry and subsequent assaults,” he said.
“During the ensuing scuffle, one of the protesters grabbed a member of consular staff by the neck and refused to let go. In an effort to free the staff member, other members of staff pulled their colleague into our compound. Despite this, the attacker persistently refused to let go and plunged into the property himself.”
But at a news conference on Wednesday, protester Bob Chan disputed the consul general’s version of events, describing how he was beaten by masked men outside the consulate.
“I then found myself being dragged into the grounds of the consulate. I held on to the gates where I was kicked and punched, I could not hold on for long,” he said.
“I was eventually pulled onto the ground of the consulate. I felt punches and kicks from several men. Other protesters were trying to get me out of this situation, but to no avail. The attack only stopped when a man who turned out to be a uniformed officer from the Greater Manchester Police pulled me outside the gates.”
