On Oct. 16, staff from the Chinese consulate in Manchester, UK, beat peaceful pro-democracy protesters from Hong Kong, causing outrage among Hongkongers around the world. On Oct. 23, Hong Kong people in more than a dozen cities around the world launched a solidarity action, condemning the violence of the Chinese Communist Party officials and urging the British government to prosecute the people involved or deport them.
Reading Human Chain in Solidarity with Manchester City Hongkongers
On Oct. 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (BST), the organization, named “Reading UK Stands with Hong Kong,” initiated an “Anti-Violence Human Chain Action” held on Broad Street in the city center. More than 170 Hong Kong people participated. Many participants prepared their own English language messages to brief passers-by about the beating incident at the Chinese consulate in Manchester and called on them to express their concern to the MPs.
Some participants held tablet computers and played clips of the beating incident at the CCP consulate that day, and some people made posters of the footage of the CCP Consul General in Manchester, Zheng Xiyuan, admitting to participating in the attack during his interview.
Many locals in the UK stopped to read the posters displayed by the participants, learned about the situation from the volunteers present, and even applauded and sent blessings to the Hongkongers.
The host of the conference used a loudspeaker to narrate the incident in English, pointing out that a number of British MPs had asked the British government to expel the Chinese diplomats involved in the incident. She believes that as the relevant consulate personnel has “diplomatic immunity,” Zheng Xiyuan, the consul general of the Chinese Communist Party in Manchester, has not been prosecuted by the British government even if he has publicly admitted that he had pulled the hair of Hong Kong protesters that day.
In addition, the host also mentioned that the CCP was recently revealed to have three “overseas police stations” in the UK, but the British government has not taken any response, so she called on the public to express their concerns about the incident to MPs.
A reporter from The Epoch Times interviewed a number of local British people at the scene. Most of them did not know about the beating incident at the Chinese consulate in Manchester and were very surprised by the incident. Some even expressed their concern to MPs by email. One of the locals, Ana, denounced the incident as disgusting and unbelievable and hoped that the British government could prosecute the relevant persons in accordance with the law as soon as possible or expel them from the country.
1,500 March to Embassy in London
At 4 p.m. on the same day, “Hong Kong Aid, Good Neighbour Church England, Hong Kong Liberty, Free Tibet” and other organizations co-organized a parade in central London. The procession started from 10 Downing Street to the Chinese Embassy in London, passing through London’s Chinatown and Oxford Street. About 1,500 people participated in the parade.After the parade started, the Ukrainian demonstrators next to the starting point of the Hongkongers cheered for the Hong Kong parade participants. The Ukrainian side shouted “Free Hong Kong,” while the Hong Kong team responded with “Stand With Ukraine.” The two sides cheered each other up.
Lilith, a former member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, said in an interview with The Epoch Times that she came out to protest to speak out for the Manchester City incident and, at the same time, hoped to rally the people of Hong Kong. She believes that the incident has been elevated to a diplomatic level, and the British government should expel the relevant Chinese consulate staff. But she worries that even if the CCP removes the staff involved, the CCP will still be able to send other staff to “enforce the law overseas.”
Earlier, a human rights organization pointed out that the CCP had infiltrated the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other places. Lilith estimates that the CCP may not be restrained because of the Manchester City beating incident. The CCP has been recklessly carrying out large-scale oppression and arrests, ignoring world values.
When the parade reached Trafalgar Square, there was a sudden strong wind and heavy rain, and there was also thunder and lightning. The parade was carried out under heavy rain. a current affairs commentator Gordon Poon who participated in the parade pointed out in an interview with the Epoch Times that even with the torrential rain, nearly 1,000 people still participated in the parade. He believes that Hong Kong’s people are close-knit and disciplined, and when they advocate non-violent protest, even if the parade passes through Chinatown, there will be no conflict. Despite the storm, there were still many Hongkongers who took to the streets. Gordon said he was very excited and believed that no matter where the Hong Kong people were, they would never give up and surrender.
Some protesters described the wind as similar to typhoon signal No. 8 in Hong Kong, and some recalled that during the anti-extradition movement in Hong Kong, the Civil Human Rights Front held a parade on Aug. 18, 2019. The weather was also bad on that day. There were still 1.7 million Hong Kong people that took to the streets to protest.
Our reporter observed at the scene that after the strong wind and heavy rain, the number of people in the parade decreased by nearly one-third. When the parade passed through Chinatown, a suspected Chinese male staff member of the Chinese restaurant Lido gave his middle finger to the parade. When he was discovered by the marchers and the British police, he immediately returned to the restaurant. At this time, eggs were thrown on the signboard of the “Lido” restaurant. Some protesters claimed that the male staff member or other “Little Pinks” did it, while others pointed to the protesters. There was a disturbance for a while.
Mainland Chinese Also Participated in the Parade
After the parade arrived at the London embassy, people in the crowd were invited to speak. During the parade, several mainland Chinese women who participated in the parade held up banners and shouted the protest slogan “Peng Zaizhou,” a mainland protester demonstrated on a bridge in Beijing and spoke through a loudspeaker.One of the speakers, Kuai Kuai, revealed in an interview with The Epoch Times that he was from Wuhan and came to the UK five years ago. She was angry about the beating incident in Manchester, so she participated in the march. She believed that the CCP’s way of dealing with things was too much. Regarding the “Chinese Overseas Police Station,” she worries that even though she lives in the UK, she might lose her freedom and live in the fear under the CCP; she is also worried that the British government will relaunch nuclear projects in cooperation with the CCP.
UK Political Parties Show Concern
On Oct. 16, on the day of the 20th National Congress of the CCP, about 30 to 40 Hong Kong residents in the United Kingdom gathered outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, to oppose the tyranny of the CCP. Police officers were also on patrol at the time. At about 4 pm, a group of people from the consulate general came out, kicking and tearing at protesters’ signs. A Hong Kong man was dragged into the consulate and attacked by the consulate personnel. Finally, the police entered the consulate and rescued the Hong Kong person. Police have launched an investigation into the matter, and no arrests have been made so far.On Oct. 18, a British MP raised an urgent question about the incident. British Foreign Minister Jesse Norman responded that the Foreign Secretary had summoned the Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in London to express the British government’s deep concern over the incident and Ask them to explain the behavior of the consulate staff.
