Manchester Chinese consulate staffers attack pro-Hong Kong protester - The Washington Post

Protest banners and flags calling for Hong Kong independency were draped extracurricular the consulate. One poster was an representation of Xi lasting earlier a reflector wearing thing but a crown and a brace of boxers — a play connected the fable of the emperor’s caller clothes.

As 1 of the demonstrators began to speak, unit successful riot cogwheel emerged from the consulate and attempted to prehend the poster from the protesters, according to a connection from the group. A demonstrator identified by the radical lone arsenic Bob was holding up the coating erstwhile helium was dragged into the consulate, wherever helium was beaten by a radical of men.

Jimmy Chen, a 19-year-old who was astatine the gathering, said helium saw the protester pulled done a gross into the consulate wherever helium was attacked for astir 30 seconds earlier a British constabulary serviceman intervened and dragged him backmost out.

“The lawsuit was calm until respective radical with bulletproof vests connected came retired from the consulate and started to teardrop down the posters,” helium said. “Some protesters tried to halt them and got pushed back, truthful they ended up fighting.”

Video captured astatine the country showed the men punching and holding the demonstrator down connected the ground. According to rally organizers, after British constabulary stopped the attack they acceptable up a cordon separating protesters from the consulate staff.

The injured demonstrator was taken to a infirmary and is successful unchangeable condition, the radical said. The Chinese Consulate successful Manchester confirmed the incidental to The Washington Post but declined to remark further. The Chinese Embassy successful London did not respond to a petition for comment.

“If the UK constabulary had not intervened today, oregon if the assembly had taken spot successful Hong Kong oregon China, I americium acrophobic that the peaceful protesters similar america would person already been … disappeared,” the protester said, according to the group’s statement.

On Monday, respective British members of Parliament called connected authorities to analyse the incident. Alicia Kearns, seat of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called for the Chinese ambassador to beryllium summoned and for immoderate consulate subordinate progressive successful the beating to beryllium expelled from the country. Former Conservative Party person Iain Duncan Smith demanded a afloat apology from the Chinese ambassador.

Xi, who is expected to unafraid a 3rd word astatine the enactment legislature that began connected Sunday, oversaw a terrible crackdown connected Hong Kong’s pro-democracy question that culminated successful a far-reaching national information law that has severely curtailed the city’s erstwhile progressive ideology movement.