Diplomatic standoff between China and UK after attack outside embassy

Chinese officials say staff were protecting the facility from trespassing, while both the protester and Manchester police say embassy staff dragged him into Chinese territory to beat him.

On Tuesday, the British Foreign Office invited Chinese officials for a lecture.

– We made our position clear to the Chinese authorities: the right to peaceful demonstrations must be respected in the UK, says Zach Goldsmith, minister without portfolio at the Foreign Office.

At the same time, the relevant authority in Beijing announced that “troublemakers” had entered the embassy compound.

Violation of the peace and dignity of China’s embassies and embassies abroad will not be tolerated, said spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

“cheated me”

About 40 activists were involved in this demonstration.

As masked embassy staff came out of the embassy, ​​fighting broke out around protestors’ banners.

– They dragged me in and whipped me, the protester told the BBC.

According to Manchester Police, a group of protesters dragged one of the protesters into the embassy compound – and police were forced to intervene and remove the victim. Pictures show a group pulling the man’s hair and head, while a policeman pulls him in one direction in another direction.

“had to stay in the hospital”

The man, in his 30s, sustained injuries that required him to stay in hospital overnight. Manchester Police are investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made.

During the ongoing party conference in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the transition from “chaos to order” in the formerly self-ruled Hong Kong.

A few years ago, there were large-scale demonstrations against democracy and China’s growing influence in Hong Kong. Since then, opposition figures in the province have been jailed or exiled.