Hong Kong Watch responds to the Foreign Secretary’s decision to push for the removal of Chinese diplomats involved in the assault at the Manchester Consulate

Today, the Chinese Government formally removed six diplomats from the UK, including the Consul General in Manchester, following a request from the Foreign Secretary that the diplomats waive their immunity.

This follows an incident at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester where the Consul General along with a number of embassy staff assaulted Hong Kong protestors and destroyed their banners, one protestor, Bob Chan, was dragged onto embassy grounds and beaten.

Following a police investigation and an interview in which the Consul General confirmed his participation in the assault and stated that it was “his duty” to attack the protestors, the decision was made by the UK Government to ask for China to formally remove the diplomats.

Commenting on the decision by the Foreign Secretary to request the waiving of the Chinese diplomat’s immunity and their exit from the UK, Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive, said:

“The Foreign Secretary’s statement today and the removal of these Chinese diplomats, including the Consul-General himself, from the Manchester Consulate and from the United Kingdom entirely is a good development.

Action should have been taken earlier, and it should not have required two months and considerable parliamentary pressure to reach this outcome, but we welcome the fact that action has now been taken. The appalling violence carried out by Chinese diplomats at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester in October is completely unacceptable and outrageous. It was a direct attack not only on Hong Kongers but on our freedoms in the United Kingdom. If it were not for their diplomatic immunity, those responsible for the violence should have been arrested and prosecuted.

Given that criminal justice could not be served due to diplomatic immunity, the removal of the diplomats is the right decision. They should not be welcome in the United Kingdom or in any democratic country that upholds human rights and the rule of law.”