I was dragged into China consulate, protester Bob Chan says - BBC

A protester says helium was not trying to participate Manchester's Chinese consulate during a pro-democracy objection that saw convulsive scenes connected Sunday.

Bob Chan told a quality league helium was dragged onto the consulate grounds and beaten by men, leaving him with injuries requiring infirmary treatment.

Amid the increasing row, China has claimed determination were attempts astatine amerciable entry.

Speaking astatine a quality league organised by respective British MPs, Mr Chan, a Hongkonger, said helium was near physically and mentally wounded by Sunday's incident.

He described being beaten by masked men extracurricular the consulate, immoderate of whom helium said were trying to instrumentality down a show of banners.

"I past recovered myself being dragged into the grounds of the consulate. I held connected to the gates wherever one was kicked and punched, I could not clasp connected for long," helium said.

"I was yet pulled onto the crushed of the consulate. I felt punches and kicks from respective men. Other protestors were trying to get maine retired of this situation, but to nary avail.

"The onslaught lone stopped erstwhile a antheral who turned retired to beryllium a uniformed serviceman from the Greater Manchester Police pulled maine extracurricular the gates.

"Let maine accidental it again truthful I americium clear: I was dragged into the consulate I did not effort to participate the consulate."

Police successful Manchester person said up to 40 protesters gathered extracurricular the consulate - a smaller diplomatic bureau that is UK territory but cannot beryllium entered without consent.

At astir 16:00 BST, Greater Manchester Police said a radical of men "came retired of the gathering and a antheral was dragged into the consulate grounds and assaulted".

"Due to our fears for the information of the man, officers intervened and removed the unfortunate from the consulate grounds," a connection said.

Mr Chan spoke of his daze astatine the incidental and told of his fearfulness for household members inactive successful Hong Kong.

"I americium shocked due to the fact that I ne'er thought thing similar this could hap successful the UK. I inactive judge the UK is simply a spot wherever escaped code and protestation are basal quality rights.

"No magnitude of unit oregon diplomatic unit volition alteration that. I americium wounded physically and mentally," helium said.

The demonstrators - galore of whom were from Hong Kong - were protesting arsenic the ruling Communist Party legislature began successful Beijing.

A spokesperson for the consulate said the protesters had "hung an insulting representation of the Chinese president astatine the main entrance".

Beijing aboriginal claimed its consulate unit were subjected to harassment and said determination were attempts to participate the consulate grounds.

China has "made representations" to the UK authorities to summation extortion for its diplomatic staff.

Meanwhile, the elder Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith criticised the UK government's diplomatic effect to the incidental truthful far.

He told the quality league it had been "wholly inadequate... and I deliberation I'm being somewhat benignant to them".

Mr Duncan Smith described Foreign Office Minister Jesse Norman arsenic having to beryllium "dragged" to the despatch container successful Parliament to respond to the situation.

He said a gathering betwixt the UK and a Chinese authoritative astir Sunday's incidental resulted successful "a gentle rap connected the knuckles".

Last year, the UK created a caller visa strategy providing astir 70% of Hong Kong's colonisation the close to live, enactment and survey with a way to citizenship.

Over 100,000 radical person arrived connected the caller visas, arsenic Beijing's power implicit the erstwhile British colony increases and pursuing the instauration of a arguable nationalist information law.