LONDON (Reuters) – China has deported six British officials whom police wanted to question over the treatment of a man who said he was kicked and punched while protesting outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, a source said. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
He shrewdly welcomed the removal of those responsible, including the consul-general in Manchester, after he told Chinese diplomats of British concerns over the incident.
Police were investigating the alleged assault of a protester who was beaten by several men after being dragged into the grounds of the consulate in Manchester, northwest England, during a protest against the president Xi Jinping.
Cleverly had previously said the incident was unacceptable and summoned a senior Chinese diplomat to raise Britain’s concerns in October.
On Wednesday, Cleverly told broadcasters that police had asked six Chinese officials to waive diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned and the embassy notified.
“We set a deadline which expired today, making it clear that we expected them to act. In response to our request, the Chinese government has now removed these officials from the UK, including the Consul General himself,” Cleverly said.
“It demonstrates that our adherence to the rule of law, the seriousness with which we take (this) example, has had an effect… it is right that the Chinese government has now removed these civil servants from the UK.”
The October protest came on the first day of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s two-decade congress in Beijing, in which Xi won a third term in office.
He shrewdly welcomed the removal of those responsible, including the consul-general in Manchester, after he told Chinese diplomats of British concerns over the incident.
Police were investigating the alleged assault of a protester who was beaten by several men after being dragged into the grounds of the consulate in Manchester, northwest England, during a protest against the president Xi Jinping.
Cleverly had previously said the incident was unacceptable and summoned a senior Chinese diplomat to raise Britain’s concerns in October.
On Wednesday, Cleverly told broadcasters that police had asked six Chinese officials to waive diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned and the embassy notified.
“We set a deadline which expired today, making it clear that we expected them to act. In response to our request, the Chinese government has now removed these officials from the UK, including the Consul General himself,” Cleverly said.
“It demonstrates that our adherence to the rule of law, the seriousness with which we take (this) example, has had an effect… it is right that the Chinese government has now removed these civil servants from the UK.”
The October protest came on the first day of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s two-decade congress in Beijing, in which Xi won a third term in office.
