Chinese officials who police wanted to interview about the treatment of a man who claimed to have been kicked and beaten while protesting outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester have been expelled from China, according to British Foreign Minister James Cleverly.
Having conveyed British concern about the event with Chinese diplomats, cleverly welcomed the departure of the officials, including the consul general in Manchester.
Police were looking into an alleged assault on a demonstrator who was pulled into the grounds of the consulate in Manchester, northwest England, during a demonstration against President Xi Jinping and then battered by several individuals.
In October, Cleverly summoned a senior Chinese official to express Britain’s alarm after previously calling the situation intolerable.
Cleverly confirmed broadcasters on Wednesday that the embassy had been notified and that police had asked six Chinese officials to relinquish their diplomatic immunity so they could be questioned.
“We made it plain that we expected them to respond by setting a deadline that expired today. The Chinese government has now expelled those officials from the UK in response to our request, including the Consul General himself “Very well said.
It is appropriate that the Chinese government has now expelled these individuals from the UK, as this shows that our dedication to the rule of law and the seriousness with which we treat (this) occurrence has had an impact.
The October demonstration happened on the opening day of Beijing’s twice-decade Communist Party congress, where Xi was elected to a third term as party head.
