Assault on protester in Manchester is seen as being consistent with Beijing’s hawkish rhetoric of recent years
A shocking attack on a pro-democracy protester who was dragged inside the Chinese consulate in Manchester and beaten, allegedly by consular staff, was a manifestation of China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, according to analysts.
On Sunday, the day the Chinese Communist party’s 20th congress opened in Beijing, a small group of Hong Kong protesters demonstrated outside the consulate. Images from the attack circulating on social media show a grey-haired man holding one protester by his hair just inside the consulate gates, as other men attack him. The man had previously emerged from the consulate and demanded the removal of satirical posters of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and torn down a protest banner.
