(Bloomberg) — A senior Chinese diplomat in the UK defended his actions during a protest, saying he pulled a man’s hair because he offended the Asian nation and its leader Xi Jinping.
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Zheng Xiyuan, the consul-general of at the consulate in Manchester, said in an interview Thursday with Sky News that he acted because a demonstrator “abused my country, my leader.”
“It’s my duty,” Zheng said, adding any diplomat would do the same “if faced with such kind of behavior.”
Police in Manchester have said a man was dragged inside the gates of the Chinese consulate Sunday after some 30 to 40 people had gathered outside to stage a peaceful protest. The victim was assaulted within the consulate grounds until he was removed by an officer, police added.
Video of the incident appears to show Zheng tear down one of several signs on a sidewalk in front of the consulate criticizing both China’s ruling Communist Party and Xi, who is expected to secure a norm-defying third term in office this weekend.
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That move set off a scuffle between protesters and staff, and Zheng later appears to grab a protester by the hair and watch as he is beaten by several men.
Zheng said in the interview that his staff “tried to control the situation” and denied he attacked anyone, saying he acted “peacefully.”
Foreign Office minister Jesse Norman told the House of Commons on Tuesday that Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had summoned the Chinese envoy to express his “deep concern” and demand an explanation.
The Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force, a political group that had promoted the demonstration on social media, later decried the attack in an online post. It also quoted the Hong Konger who was beaten as saying: “This attack in broad daylight is beyond reason.”
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The episode is the latest example of Chinese diplomats getting involved in physical confrontations. Two envoys were accused of injuring a Taiwanese counterpart at an event in Fiji celebrating Taiwan’s national day in 2020 — a claim Beijing denied.
Lithuania lodged a protest with the Chinese embassy in Vilnius after diplomats allegedly acted “in violation of public order” during a pro-Hong Kong rally in 2019.
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