Chinese Consulate Beating Investigation Still Ongoing, Manchester Police Say

Screenshot from video showing a police officer trying to rescue a Hong Kong protester who was being beaten at the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, on Oct. 16, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

The investigation into the beating of a Hong Kong protester is still ongoing months after the Chinese diplomats allegedly involved have left the UK, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have confirmed.

In an email to The Epoch Times on Friday, a spokesperson confirmed that the investigation was “ongoing,” adding, “We will not be able to comment as it is a live investigation.”

On Oct. 16, 2022, a peaceful protest outside the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester descended into a brief scuffle after then-Consul General Zheng Xiyuan and a group of masked staff emerged from the consulate, snatched a banner, and dragged a protester, Bob Chan， onto consulate ground to beat him.

People attending a protest organised by Hong Kong Indigenous Defense outside the Chinese Consulate, before Chinese diplomats caused chaos by beating a protester, in Manchester, England, on Oct. 16, 2022. (Hong Kong Indigenous Defense Force)

The beating was caught on camera. After being recognised from footage circulated online, Zheng admitted to pulling Chan’s hair.

GMP later identified offences from the footage but weren’t able to interview consulate staff before Beijing pulled them from the UK.

Speaking to The Epoch Times on Tuesday, Chan said it was “unscrupulous” for Chinese officials to first drag him onto the consulate grounds and beat them, and then refuse to cooperate with the police investigation.

“I’m feeling indignant at the Chinese Diplomats’ behaviour, but also powerless to hold them to account,” he said.

Human Rights Campaigners: Evidence Was Clear

Mark Sabah, UK and EU director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said he doesn’t understand why the investigation is still ongoing.

“Without being fully aware of the details of the investigation, and without having spoken to the Manchester police specifically, my opinion is that it seems strange that an investigation is still ongoing, given that the people who are being investigated have now left the country,” Sabah told The Epoch Times.

Noting the the incident occurred “in broad daylight,” was filmed by a number of cameras, and came with Zheng’s televised admission, Sabah questioned how much more evidence is needed.

“I’m not sure what the investigation is still doing. It would be more honest to close it and say we’re not investigating anything else. I can’t imagine what the police are still looking for,” he said.

“You’ve got all the evidence right there in front of you for the whole world to see. And it just seems very strange that five, six months on from the beating of Bob Chan, they’re still conducting the investigation. I can’t understand what they’re doing.”

Sabah said it would be preferable that the GMP draw a “very swift conclusion,” formally acknowledging that “a diplomat was involved in an assault on a foreign citizen.”

Hongkongers holding a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in Manchester, UK, were dragged into the consulate and beaten by the staff, on Oct. 16, 2022. (Screenshot via Hong Kong Indigenous Defense Force)

Simon Cheng, chair of Hongkongers in Britain and a former employee at the British Consulate in Hong Kong, said it’s good the keep the investigation alive.

It would give the suspects “a signal that it’s not the end of the matter, ” Cheng told The Epoch Times.

He also said it will leave open the opportunity to hold them to account once their diplomatic immunity expires.

Although the investigation was impeded because the diplomats didn’t cooperate, “based on the CCTV footage it’s quite obvious and apparent those people were involved in the attack, and definitely that is a criminal act on British soil,” he added.

Simon Cheng with Benedict Rogers in London, on Dec. 20, 2019. (Courtesy of Simon Cheng)

Benedict Rogers, co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch, said it was “outrageous that diplomats could violently assault peaceful protesters, dragging one person into the gates of the consulate, pulling his hair, digging fingers into his eyes, and severely beating him.”

Calling the behaviour “criminal, thuggish,” Rogers wrote in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times that it “exposes the true character of the regime in China and represents a threat to our freedoms.”

“The evidence is very clear, including the admission by the consul-general himself in a television interview, and they should be held to account,” he said, adding that it was “unfortunate” the UK government didn’t “act more quickly and robustly.”

“They should have been expelled immediately, instead of being allowed to remain before eventually leaving the country quietly of their own accord. They should not be allowed to get away with impunity.”

Rogers said the diplomats should at least be “banned from ever visiting the UK again, declared persona non grata, and sanctioned.”

Chinese Diplomat: ‘It’s My Duty’ to Pull Protester’s Hair

The October 2022 protest was staged by pro-democracy activist group Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force.

Shortly after the event began, Zheng and his staff, all masked, two wearing helmets, appeared from the gate to snatch a banner that depicted a caricature of Chinese leader Xi Jinping as an emperor wearing no clothes.

Chan, who was holding the banner at the time, sustained minor injuries after he was dragged onto the consulate grounds and beaten.

A GMP officer rescued Chan by pulling him out of the consulate.

A spokesperson for Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force told The Epoch Times after the incident that some of Chan’s hair was pulled out and he had been punched on multiple parts of his body including his head.

Footage circulated online also appeared to show a consulate worker being kicked by protesters during the scuffle, but no injuries had been reported to the GMP.

After being recognised from footage of the incident that showed him kicking banners and pulling Chan’s hair, the consul-general told Sky News: “Yeah … he’s abused my country, my leader. I think it’s my duty.”

The UK government promised prosecution or “diplomatic consequences” for those who were found to have committed crimes by the police. However, the chance of prosecution disappeared when the diplomats left the country.

During the investigation into the incident, GMP’s Major Incident Team in November identified “a number of offences including assaults and public order offences.” But Beijing pulled six diplomats out of the country after GMP requested to interview them.

According to Anne-Marie Trevelyan, minister of state at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), the FCDO passed on the GMP’s request to interview Zheng and five of his staff and gave the Chinese Embassy a week to waive their diplomatic immunity.

However, the Chinese Embassy then notified the FCDO that Beijing had removed Zheng from the UK and that the other five diplomats either had left or were leaving.