A senior Chinese diplomat working in the United Kingdom took part in an attack on peaceful protesters campaigning for democracy, according to claims made by a member of parliament speaking under parliamentary privilege.
The chair of the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, has claimed that one of the most senior Chinese officials working in the UK was involved in an attack on a pro-Hong Kong Democracy protest on Sunday.
It comes after videos emerged online which appeared to show the protest outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester being attacked by masked men, with police having to step in to rescue one individual after he was seemingly dragged into the grounds of the consulate and beaten.
According to a report by British state-owned broadcaster the BBC, Kearns has alleged that the Chinese Consul-General for Manchester Zheng Xiyuan was involved in the incident. The broadcaster even published comparison images of the masked man at the scuffle alongside images of consul Xiyuan, inviting readers to speculate on whether they might be the same man.
Conservative MP Kearns accused the Chinese officials of ripping down posters belonging to the peaceful demonstrators.
CRG chair @aliciakearns raised an Urgent Question on the attack on a Hong Kong protester at the Chinese consulate in Manchester on Sunday.
"We cannot allow the CCP to import their silencing of free speech to British soil." pic.twitter.com/RHcrANS6r2
— China Research Group (@ChinaResearchGp) October 18, 2022
“What we saw was the Chinese Consul-General then ripping down posters… and soon followed grievous bodily harm against a Hong Konger, one of whom was hospitalised for taking part in a peaceful protest,” she claimed.
“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,” the MP also alleged.
“We cannot allow the CCP to import their beating of protesters [and] their silencing of free speech,” Kearns went on to say, calling the incident a “chilling escalation”.
WATCH: Pro-Hong Kong Protester in UK Dragged into Chinese Consulate by Masked Men and Beaten Uphttps://t.co/2bOcqb5hUF
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 18, 2022
Kearns went on to demand that any Chinese official found to be “involved in the beatings” be prosecuted if the UK is legally able to do so, or “expelled” from Britain “within the week” should criminal action not be possible.
Whether or not such action will be taken if wrongdoing is eventually attributed to any Chinese official remains unknown, though the Foreign Office has confirmed that its Secretary, James Cleverly MP, has summoned the Chinese officials, demanding that they explain the actions of staff members at the consulate.
“The Foreign Secretary has issued a summons to the Chinese Charge d’Affaires at the Chinese Embassy in London to express His Majesty’s government deep concern at the incident and to demand an explanation for the actions of the consulate staff,” Reuters reports the UK foreign office as saying.
Meanwhile, China has so far denied wrongdoing in relation to the incident, with one official going so far as to say that one individual beaten within the grounds of the consulate was not dragged onto the premises, but instead “entered the compound illegally”.
This appears to outright contradict a police account of the incident, which reports the man being dragged onto the grounds of the Chinese consulate.
“Shortly before 4pm a small group of men came out of the building and a man was dragged into the consulate grounds and assaulted,” a statement from law enforcement regarding the violence read.
A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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