Australians Rally to Support Hong Kong Protester Beaten at Manchester Consulate

Protesters rallied at the Chinese consulate in Sydney on Oct. 23 to support the Hong Kong protestor who was beaten at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester. Aus Hong Kong Connex

Protesters rallied at the Chinese consulate in Sydney on Sunday to support the Hong Kong protestor who was beaten at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester.

Started by Aus-Hong Kong Connex, an organization founded in April to help Hong Kong migrants new to Australia, the protest was organized to condemn the beating of a Hong Kong resident in the UK by the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England and urge the UK government to take actions.

On Oct. 16, the day of the 20th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Hong Kong residents in the UK held a protest outside the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester to protest against the CCP and its leader Xi Jinping.

Among protesters displaying banners reading “Heaven Will Destroy the CCP” outside the Chinese consulate, Bob Chan, a 30-year-old man from Hong Kong, was dragged into the consulate and beaten by several staff members in riot gear, causing him to be hospitalized with injuries.

On Oct. 19, 2022, the Hong Kong resident who was involved in the Chinese Consulate in Manchester incident held his first public press conference. He said at a press conference that he was dragged into the Chinese consulate and beaten by several men, causing him to be hospitalized with injuries. Ben Stansall/AFP

Chan was trying to stop the staff from taking a large poster depicting a caricature of Chinese leader Xi Jinping as an emperor wearing no clothes.

The incident has sparked international condemnation. British lawmakers have urged the UK government to expel Chinese diplomats who were involved in the beating. Four Chinese diplomats were named to be involved in the attack, including  Zheng Xiyuan, the Chinese consul general in Manchester, who admitted to beating people on Oct. 20 but did not admit any wrongdoing. He also stated that attacking the protestor was his duty.

‘Say No to Violence': Protest Organizer

Ms. Lam, the deputy chair of Aus-Hong Kong Connex, said they organized the protest in Sydney to show their support for a fellow Hong Konger.

“There was a call for people over Hong Kong, people all over the world in many major cities, to gather before the Chinese Consulate to stay no to the violence that has [been] done in the Manchester Chinese Consulate,” she said. “We think all Hong Kong people should say no to this kind of violence.”

Lam believed that it was the first time a protestor was dragged into a Chinese consulate and beaten by the staff members, and she doesn’t think the response by the UK government is satisfactory.

“They should, within a couple of days or one week, already declare that this is unlawful,” she told The Epoch Times. “I hope that the UK Government [can] stand firm and take care [of] these unnormal acts of violence, and I hope there will be investigations.

“If they [are] found guilty, they will be charged... They need to be bound by the law.”

Ms. Lam, the deputy chair of Aus-Hong Kong Connex spoke at the rally. The Epoch Times

Kerry Wright, a teacher, writer, and humanitarian, spoke at the rally.

“Is it a shock when a protester is hauled into a consulate and beaten up by the consular in the UK? A shock to us all? Of course. Human rights matter. The Universal Declaration [of Human Rights] matters,” she said.

“I hope Hong Kong is returned to the country where people live in love. Whether or not you like going to mainland China or whether or not you want to go to other parts of the world is irrelevant.”

Kerry also condemned the Chinese communist regime for other human rights violations, such as the imprisonment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang area and children being forcibly separated from their parents and being told to change their religions in Tibet.

“This world is not just about money. It’s about people’s well-being,” she said. “I think as a teacher, an Australian teacher, that’s what I want to say from my heart and soul. I admire every one of these people who has come out here on a Sunday.”

Protestors played “Glory to Hong Kong,” a symbol song of the pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and held pictures of the same caricature of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which Bob Chan was trying to protect outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester.

Some also hung slogans of Peng Lifa, the man who dressed as a construction worker and unfurled banners at an overpass in Beijing days before the CCP’s 20th national congress.

The banners criticized the CCP, calling out the regime’s Zero COVID approach and calling for democracy.

“We don’t want PCR tests; we want to eat. We don’t want lockdowns; we want freedom. We don’t want lies; we want dignity. We don’t want the ‘Cultural Revolution;’ we want reform. We don’t want a leader; we want votes. We don’t want to be slaves; we want to be citizens,” the banners read.

Lily Zheng contributed to this report.