The Chinese foreign ministry has defended an incident in which a Hong Kong protester was assaulted on the property of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England.
People had “illegally entered” the premises, according to a spokesperson, and any nation’s diplomats would have taken “required actions” to secure their property.
Police are looking into a Sunday assault on a pro-democracy protester. There have been several calls for the UK government to summon China’s ambassador and maybe take more steps in response to the violence.
Bob, the protester, was hospitalized for one night to receive treatment after sustaining many physical injuries.
At a daily news briefing in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated: “People [who] planned to annoy entered the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester illegally… jeopardizing the safety of a Chinese diplomatic institution.”
He added that any attempt to violate the consulate’s tranquility and dignity will not be permitted.
Around 30 to 40 individuals had gathered outside the consulate, according to a statement from the Greater Manchester Police, and patrols were in the vicinity to help maintain the “peaceful demonstration.”
According to the consulate, demonstrators had a derogatory image of the president of China on display.
The UK foreign secretary is receiving more requests to call the Chinese ambassador to Britain for an explanation.
Leader of Hong Kong John Lee commented on the incident on Tuesday, saying it should be handled following local regulations.
The demonstration took place on the same day as China’s twice-decade Communist Party Congress began. President Xi Jinping is generally anticipated to win a third term in office at this congress.
Regarding the situation in Hong Kong, Mr. Xi said on Sunday that Beijing has changed it from “chaos to governance.”
Following the 2019 pro-democracy protests, Beijing implemented a broad national security law on the former British colony.
