UK Could Target Chinese Diplomatic Staff After Protesters Storm Consulate
14:00 GMT 19.10.2022 (Updated: 15:24 GMT 28.05.2023)
© AFP 2023 / LINDSEY PARNABY / The Chinese consulate in Manchester a day after an incident involving a scuffle between Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters and Chinese consulate members of staff
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Downing Street is reportedly preparing to label China as a "threat" to British interests, and has now threatened to prosecute former RAF pilots if they take consultant jobs with the Chinese air force.
The British government could launch a diplomatic spat with Beijing after a protester was injured while trying to storm the Chinese consulate in Manchester.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has not ruled out retaliation over the "completely unacceptable" incident on Sunday, saying he had summoned Beijing's chargé d’affairs in London to explain "at the first available opportunity."
But the Chinese Foreign Ministry hot back, saying it had raised the "malicious riots" with Cleverley's ministry.
The protester, named only as "Bob", was one of several who tried to force their way onto the grounds of the consulate during a demonstration in favour of "pro-democracy" activists in the former British colony of Hong Kong.
Media reports said he was intercepted by men who "appeared" to emerge from the building to complain about what the consulate called "deeply offensive imagery and slogans" used by the protesters.
Consul General Zheng Xiyuan said his staff were attacked by the mob who "stormed" the gate.
Cleverly told BBC Radio Four's Today Programme on Wednesday that he was waiting for the outcome of a Greater Manchester Police investigation before deciding "what other action I might choose to take in response to that."
"I made it very clear at the first opportunity that this is completely unacceptable behaviour," Cleverly stressed. When asked if some consular staff could be prosecuted, he said: "I don’t want to speculate about what we might do in response."
A video of the scuffle shows a man, allegedly Zheng, knocking over banners on the street. He is shoved as he pushes through protesters blocking the gate to re-enter the grounds.
Chinese consulate staff including Chinese ambassador attacked protesters in street in Manchester and then drag one onto consulate property and beat him, 🤬This isn't china🤬 pic.twitter.com/8pMBTeLpTP
— ADM living rent free in lefty minds (@AlanMat66462470) October 18, 2022
The man allegedly grabbed "Bob" by the hair and pulled him through the gate, where he was beaten by other staff. The protester reportedly needed overnight hospital treatment afterwards for injuries including cuts below his eye.
This is CCTV footage, installed at Chinese Consulate in #Manchester.
— Save Uyghurs (@SaveUyghurs_) October 19, 2022
It clearly shows how #Chinese diplomats with degenerated spirits pulled protestor into compound as police tried its best to save his life.#UyghurGenocide #ChinaGlobalThreat@RushanAbbas pic.twitter.com/8dZKGb3hq6 https://t.co/rjKUX4Rjk2
But CCTV and other video footage showed protesters repeatedly kicking an embassy worker in the head as he lay on the ground. The consulate did not comment on whether Zheng was involved in the incident.
During protests widely reported as peaceful, a Chinese consulate staffer's head is kicked in. This is gonna be hard to ignore, but the media's been doing a pretty good job so far. I'm used to awkward mainstream silence & desperate storytelling, but this is a fascinating specimen. pic.twitter.com/00oz7zIFXs
— Daniel Dumbrill (@DanielDumbrill) October 19, 2022
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the injured protester "deliberately and illegally entered the Chinese Consulate’s grounds, causing injuries to personnel and endangering the security of the diplomatic mission."
He voiced the hope that British authorities would ensure the security of Chinese diplomatic missions and their staff in the UK in future.
Wang had previously stressed that embassies and consulates had the right to take measures to ensure the peace of their missions.
18 October 2022, 21:57 GMT
The UK returned sovereignty over Hong Kong to China in 1997 after 156 years. The territory has since held the status of a "special administrative region" within China, but attempts in recent years to reform its archaic colonial-era system of government were met with violent protests led by the student 'Umbrella' movement.
New Prime Minister Liz Truss' government is reportedly preparing to label China as a "threat" to British interests in a review of foreign and defence policy, which currently designates it as a "systemic competitor".
Reports earlier this week that the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) was seeking retired Royal Air Force pilots to work as advisors prompted moves to change the law in response.
