China on Tuesday accused demonstrators of "illegally entering" Beijing's consulate in the British city of Manchester, after footage of a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester being assaulted on the grounds sparked outrage in the UK.

British police have said a group of men came out of the consulate during a peaceful demonstration on Sunday afternoon and dragged one of the protesters inside the grounds and assaulted him.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Tuesday said the protesters were to blame and that "violation of the peace and dignity of China's overseas embassies and consulates will not be tolerated".

"The troublemakers illegally entered the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester, endangering the security of the premises," Wang said at a daily press briefing.

He urged the UK to "earnestly fulfil its duties and take effective measures to step up protection of the premises and personnel of the Chinese embassy and consulates".

A British government spokesman on Monday said reports of the incident were "obviously deeply concerning," adding that it would be "inappropriate" to comment further while the police probe was ongoing.

The protest took place as China opened its five-yearly Communist Party Congress, where President Xi Jinping is widely expected to be handed a historic third term in power.

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Australian economist jailed in Myanmar moved to Yangon's Insein prison: source
Yangon, Myanmar (AFP) Oct 17, 2022
An Australian economist jailed in Myanmar has been moved from the isolated military-built capital to a sprawling prison in Yangon, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP on Monday. Sean Turnell was working as an adviser to Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi when he was detained shortly after the coup in February last year. In September, he and Suu Kyi were convicted by a closed junta court of breaching the official secrets act and jailed for three years each. "Mr Sean Tunell wa ... read more