China has removed six diplomats from Britain who police wanted to question in connection to the alleged beating of a pro-democracy protester outside of the Chinese consulate in the English city of Manchester.
The move follows a request by the British government for China to waive diplomatic immunity and allow its diplomats to be interviewed by police, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told reporters Wednesday.
“In response to our request the Chinese government have now removed from the UK those officials, including the consul-general himself,” said Cleverly. “This demonstrates that our adherence to the rule of law, the seriousness with which we take these instances has had an effect.”
The confrontation occurred during a pro-democracy demonstration in support of Hong Kong outside of Manchester’s Chinese consulate in October this year. Video of the incident showed one of the protesters being dragged into the consulate grounds before being beaten by a group of men.
“Images carried on social media showed what appeared to be completely unacceptable behavior by a number of individuals near the entrance to the consular premises,” said Cleverly in a statement Tuesday.
Consul-general Zheng Xiyuan later claimed protesters had incited the violence with “rude banners” and it was his “duty” to defend China’s dignity.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said Wednesday Britain had failed to protect its consular staff, adding it had launched its own representations with the UK over the incident, which it described as “of a most malignant nature.”
“It was a violent disruptive provocation deliberately staged by anti-China elements who assaulted our consulate members and illegally intruded into the consulate premises, gravely undermining the safety and dignity of consulate officials,” the spokesman said.
The Chinese Embassy said the consul-general returned to China under a “normal rotation of Chinese consular officials” and had completed his term of office. (CNN)