A group of Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators protested outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England on the 16th, but were vandalized and beaten by a group of people who rushed out of the consulate. One of them was dragged into the consulate and beaten up; the white-haired man on the left of the screen took the lead. It is also suspected to be Zheng Xiyuan, the Chinese consul general in Manchester.

(AFP)

[Central News Agency] The British Prime Minister's spokesman said today that it was "deeply worrying" that a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was reportedly beaten at the Chinese consulate in Manchester in northern England.

A video posted on social media showed a group of men beating another man lying on the ground inside the consulate gate, Agence France-Presse reported.

British police have announced an investigation into the incident that happened yesterday.

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A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said "the reports are clearly deeply concerning", but it was "inappropriate" to make further comments during the police investigation; the Foreign Office also declined to comment on the matter.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping promoted the spirit of struggle at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the 16th. On the same day, many Hong Kong people protested outside the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester.

Consul General Zheng Xiyuan personally kicked down the protest slogans, and Hong Kong people were dragged into the consulate and beaten.

A Hong Kong pro-democracy activist told the BBC he was attacked by unidentified men coming out of the consulate. "They dragged me in and then beat me up."

The Greater Manchester Police said they were aware of the violence that took place at the Chinese Consulate General in Manchester at around 3 pm on the 16th (22:00 Taiwan time).

Police said that at the time of the incident, officers rushed to the scene immediately to deal with it, and police were also investigating, "to understand the entire situation."

A video circulated on Twitter shows a white-haired man wearing a mask smashing demonstrators' slogans at the entrance of the consulate, and then slightly colliding with demonstrators.

Since then, news has pointed out that the man is Zheng Xiyuan, the Chinese consul general in Manchester.

Afterwards, the footage showed a group of men beating up the demonstrators lying on the ground, with Zheng Xiyuan watching from the sidelines.

"We are not aware of the situation you are describing," Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, told AFP today, but insisted that embassies and consulates in the UK "always abide by the laws of the host country".

Alicia Kearns, the newly appointed chair of the British parliament's foreign affairs committee, tweeted in support of the man who was beaten, saying Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly "need the urgent investigation".

Influential former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith also tweeted that the government must "demand a formal apology from the Chinese ambassador to the UK".

Law Guan-cong, a former Hong Kong legislator and chairman of Hong Kong's Founding Party in exile in the United Kingdom, said, "If the consulate staff are not held accountable, Hong Kong people will live in fear of being kidnapped and persecuted." He also hoped that the United Kingdom's domestic and foreign affairs The ministry "investigates this case and protects our people in the UK".