A group of Hong Kong residents in the UK protested outside the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester on October 16, and clashed with the consulate staff. Consul General Zheng Xiyuan was photographed pulling the demonstrators' hair.
Zheng Xiyuan was interviewed by local media on the 19th and defended his actions, saying that the other party insulted his country and leaders.
Zheng Xiyuan told Sky News (Sky News) that he did not beat other people, nor did he allow his subordinates to beat others, but in fact these demonstrators attacked the consulate staff.
Regarding the incident of being accused of pulling the demonstrators' hair, Zheng Xiyuan said that his country and leaders were insulted, so he thought it was his responsibility (to stop it).
He described the incident as a sudden situation, saying that the other party threatened the life of his colleague, he tried to control the situation, and hoped to block the other party, which was very important.
And the demonstration turned into a violent conflict. Zheng Xiyuan said that the main reason was that the demonstrators hung very disrespectful banners with bad and unacceptable words. He believed that everyone should never use these words.
He emphasized that it was not appropriate to hang these banners on the gates of the consulate, so he politely asked them to remove them, but was refused.
In his letter to the Greater Manchester Police, he said that he was disappointed that the police did not take more measures to protect the safety of the consulate personnel, so they decided to protect themselves. This is a serious harassment of myself, the consulate and China.
However, the attacked protester, Bob Chan, recalled that he grabbed the gate, but was beaten and kicked, and he couldn't support it for a long time. He was eventually pulled into the consulate and thought he might die.
Protesters attacked in clashes outside Chinese consulate-general in Manchester, protesters deny illegal trespass