It came after an incident in which a protester was seen being pulled into the grounds of a Chinese consulate.
- The United Kingdom has told China's charge d'affaires in London that the right to peaceful protest must be respected
- It came after an incident in which a protester was seen being pulled into the grounds of a Chinese consulate and beaten.
A British MP has accused one of China's most senior UK diplomats of being involved in an incident in which a protester was seen being pulled into the grounds of a Chinese consulate and beaten.
UK police are investigating the incident, which occurred in Manchester, England during a demonstration against Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Officers entered the consulate grounds to rescue a man who they said "was dragged" inside and assaulted by several men.
Alicia Kearns, an MP in Britain's ruling Conservative Party and the new head of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, used parliamentary privilege to say China's Manchester consul-general, Zheng Xiyuan, "had full sight, and was quite possibly involved, in the assaults".
"What we saw was the Chinese consul-general then ripping down posters and peaceful protest," she told UK parliament.
Ms Kearns said that after Mr Zheng ripped down the placards, there was "grievous bodily harm against a Hongkonger, one of whom was hospitalised for taking part in a peaceful protest."
"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 (CCP)," she said.
"We cannot allow the CCP to import their beating of protesters, their silencing of free speech and their failure to allow time and time again protests on British soil.
"This is a chilling escalation."
China's ambassador to the UK is currently out of the country, so Charge D'Affaires Yang Xiaoguang was summoned in his place to explain the incident.
"Today we have made our view clear to the Chinese authorities: the right to peaceful protest in the UK must be respected," said Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Commenting earlier on the incident during a news conference in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin declined to confirm or deny whether Zheng Xiyuan was involved in the incident.
"Disturbing elements illegally entered the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester and endangered the security of Chinese diplomatic premises," he said.
"Diplomatic institutions of any country have the right to take the necessary measures to safeguard the peace and dignity of their premises," he added.
The protest, involving 30 to 40 people including Hongkongers who are now residents in the UK, took place at the start of a at which President Xi is widely expected to win a third leadership term.
Footage posted by the BBC showed a man in a black cap and ponytail being hauled through a gate into the consular grounds, where he was kicked and punched by five men as he lay on the ground.
The incident happened at the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England. Credit: Lindsey Parnaby/AP
In July, and subsequently released after he was accused of allegedly sending a fake bomb threat to the Chinese embassy in the UK.
The 23-year-old was arrested while staging a "small peaceful human rights protest" outside the Chinese embassy in London to defend the rights of
After attempting to glue his hand and the to the embassy gate, Mr Pavlou said London's Metropolitan Police arrested him for allegedly sending a fake bomb threat to the embassy in an email.
Mr Pavlou "vociferously denied" sending the email, pointing to previous alleged instances of fake emails sent to government officials that used his name.
Anti-Chinese government activist Drew Pavlou. Source: Facebook
"It's just insanity. Nobody would ever believe that."
The victim of the latest incident spent the night in hospital for treatment and an investigation is ongoing, the British police added in a statement.
The man, whose first name is Bob, is in his 30s and emigrated to the UK from Hong Kong recently, according to a friend close to him.
Interviewed by broadcaster Sky News, Bob said he feared for his life and showed cuts to his face and bruises on his body after the assault.
"They are like gangsters, you know, doing things like gangsters. It shouldn't be like that. It's not in China, you know. This is the UK," Bob told the news channel.
The incident was triggered when several men came out of the consulate to take down protest banners, including one with the slogan "Heaven will destroy the Chinese Communist Party" and a caricature of President Xi wearing a crown.
