A pro-democracy protester has said he was attacked inside the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester before being rescued by British police and other protesters.
The man was part of a small group demonstrating on Sunday at the start of the 20th Communist Party congress in Beijing, which is expected to extend leader Xi Jinping’s rule for another five years.
The man who was beaten, named only as Bob, said he was punched and kicked and had his hair pulled, and the attack left him bloodied and bruised. A photograph published by VOA Cantonese showed some of his injuries, just below his eyes.
“They shouldn’t have done that. We’re supposed to be free to say what we want here [in the UK],” Bob, originally from Hong Kong, told the BBC.
Footage of the attack shows a gray-haired man wearing a blue scarf holding Bob by the hair just inside the consulate gates, as other men attack him and a British police officer tries to push him away.
That man had earlier left the consulate, demanded the removal of satirical posters of Xi and tore down a protest banner.
Exiled Hong Kong politician Nathan Law said the attack had terrifying implications for Hong Kong citizens who had fled China’s crackdown in the UK and called for a strong response from the British government.
“If responsible consulate staff are not held accountable, Hong Kongers would live in fear of being kidnapped and persecuted,” he said on Twitter. “The Foreign and Home Secretaries must investigate and protect our community and the people of the UK.”
The Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
A consulate spokesman told the BBC that protesters had “hanged an insulting portrait of the Chinese president at the main entrance”. “This would be intolerable and unacceptable for any diplomatic and consular mission of any country. Therefore, we condemn this deplorable act with strong indignation and firm opposition”, added the spokesperson.
There was widespread condemnation of the attack in Britain and a strong response was called for from activists and politicians across the political divide.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on Home Secretary Suella Braverman to “look into this as a matter of urgency”.
“The UK government must demand a full apology from the Chinese ambassador to the UK and demand that those responsible are sent home to China,” he tweeted.
Sarah Owen, Labor MP for Luton North, shared a video of the attack, warning it threatened the safety of refugees. She said: “This is deeply concerning. An investigation must be held immediately, with answers given, to ensure that people fleeing persecution feel safe in our country.”
Benedict Rogers, chief executive of campaign group Hong Kong Watch, said: “This appalling act of thuggery by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in Manchester cannot go unpunished.
“[The Foreign Office] must call [Chinese ambassador] Zeng Zeguang early tomorrow morning, prosecute those responsible, and if they cannot be prosecuted, expel those responsible from the CCP without delay.”
In his opening speech at the party congress in Beijing, Xi celebrated China’s crushing of Hong Kong’s autonomy and warned Taiwan that the “wheels of history” were turning for Beijing to take control of island democracy.
Britain opened a path to citizenship for Hong Kong residents after Beijing’s crackdown on a pro-democracy movement swept away the city’s autonomy and rights, including freedom of speech and protest .
There have already been more than 140,000 visa applications under the scheme and the British government expects hundreds of thousands of people to move to the UK within five years.