He said he had bruises across his back, arms, neck and face and that he had been bleeding from wounds to his face following the alleged assault.
He said the men ripped some of his hair from his scalp.
Hong Kong protestor Bob says hair was ripped from his scalp when he was beaten on the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, on Sunday, 16 October, 2022.
“I was just thinking how to protect myself and get myself out of the gardens because when I am in their garden they can do whatever they want to me in there,” he said.
The Crown Prosecution Service says that while diplomatic premises in the UK are part of UK territory, they are inviolable and may not be entered without the consent of the ambassador or head of mission.
However, any offences committed on diplomatic premises in the UK are triable under the ordinary principles of English law, subject to the principles of diplomatic immunity for those who have it, as happened in the case of the terrorists who seized the Iranian embassy in London in 1980.
Footage of the incident shows an officer from Manchester Police entering the grounds and separate images show him helping Bob escape. He said he was happy with the work of the police.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said it was investigating the incident.
“Officers were present and responded immediately to defuse the situation,” the spokesman said.
“Enquiries are ongoing at this time to understand the full circumstances. A police patrol plan is in place in the area following this incident.”
Simon Cheng, a Hong Kong resident who worked for the British consulate and was disappeared by Chinese officials prompting his successful claim for asylum in the UK, said the government must act.
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“Most Hongkongers are British nationals who uphold the freedoms which the UK is committed to and failed to uphold in Hong Kong,” he said.
“We urge the UK Home Secretary and Greater Manchester Police to initiate a criminal investigation against the attackers, the UK Foreign Secretary to summon the consul-general, Zheng Xiyuan and Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang for an apology, and to bear any legal and diplomatic consequences,” he said.
The Chinese Consulate and the foreign office were contacted for comment.
Cheng’s call received powerful backing.
The newly-elected chair of the UK Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Alicia Kearns, said the home secretary and foreign secretary urgently needed to investigate.
“The CCP will not import their beating of protestors and denial of free speech to British streets,” she said.
“[The] Chinese ambassador should be summoned and if any official has beaten protestors, they must be expelled or prosecuted.
The opposition’s foreign spokesman David Lammy said that the reported conduct was unacceptable.
“Reports that a pro-democracy protestor was allegedly assaulted in the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester are deeply concerning and, if accurate, totally unacceptable,” he said.
“The foreign secretary should urgently summon the Chinese ambassador to demand an explanation for the incident.”
The matter is likely to be raised in the House of Commons on Monday.
