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China defends Manchester consulate violence_我的网站

一 |     Beijing/London, Oct 18 (UNI) China's foreign ministry has defended an incident in which a Hong Kong protester was pulled into Chinese consulate grounds in the British city of Manchester and beaten up.

A spokesman said people had "illegally entered" the grounds and any country's diplomats would have taken "necessary measures" to protect their premises, the BBC reported.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee weighed in on the event, saying it should be dealt with in accordance with local laws.

Police are investigating an assault on the pro-democracy protester on Sunday. Footage shows men emerging from the consulate and dragging a man inside.

The violence has prompted loud calls for the UK government to summon China's ambassador, and possibly take further action.

The protester, identified as Bob, suffered several physical injuries and spent a night in hospital for treatment.

However, China is sticking to a different version of events from the police.

"People [who] intended to cause nuisance entered the Chinese Consulate-General in Manchester illegally... threatening the safety of a Chinese diplomatic facility," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a daily press briefing in Beijing.

He added that any attempt to infringe on the consulate's "tranquillity and dignity" would "not be tolerated".

According to a statement by the Greater Manchester Police, around 30 to 40 people had gathered outside the consulate and patrols were in the area to help maintain the "peaceful protest".

"Shortly before 4pm a small group of men came out of the building and a man was dragged into the consulate grounds and assaulted," a police statement said.

"Due to our fears for the safety of the man, officers intervened and removed the victim from the consulate grounds."

The consulate says protesters had displayed an insulting portrait of China's president.

Bob told BBC Chinese that "mainlanders" - people from mainland China, as opposed to Hong Kong - had come out of the consulate and destroyed their posters.

"As we tried to stop them, they dragged me inside, they beat me up," he said. "It's ridiculous. They [the attackers] shouldn't have done that. We are supposed to have freedom to say whatever we want here [in the UK]."

The protest took place on the same day China kicked off its twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress, where its leader President Xi Jinping is widely expected to secure a third term in power.

Xi had on Sunday made reference to the situation in Hong Kong, saying Beijing had turned the situation in the city from "chaos to governance".

Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the former British colony after pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.

UNI ING。    Colombo, Oct 10 (UNI) Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced a raft of amendments to the electoral system, noting that the existing political system was a major cause for the current economic crisis.

“A referendum will be called to decide on the parliamentary electoral system if the Select Committee which is proposed to be established fails to decide on the matter by July next year,” the Daily FT newspaper quoted him as telling a meeting with professionals held at the President’s Office on Sunday.

The President said plans were also underway to slash the number of local government councillors by 50 per cent before the next election.

“Before the next election, I intend to reduce the number of council members for local governing bodies such as Pradeshiya Sabhas, Municipal Councils and Urban Councils from the current 8,000 to 4,000,” he added.

Wickremesinghe also said the ‘Jana Sabha’ will be introduced to streamline the local government councils.

“The Executive powers will be shifted to a chairman-led committee instead of a single chairman being vested with all the authority. The draft laws will be prepared to incorporate these amendments before the next local government elections,” he stressed.

Noting that the main cause for political corruption is the preferential system, President Wickremesinghe said a non-preferential list system or a mixed electoral system should be immediately adopted and restrictions should be imposed by the election law on the amount of money spent on elections.

“There are two main issues before the country today. One is the economic crisis while the other is the rejection of the political system by the majority of the population. Many are of the view that the cause of the economic collapse is the existing political system.

"Different groups have been formed within the Parliament due to the party system. I work for the people irrespective of narrow party lines,” he said.

The President cited fewer youth representatives as another key factor in the political parties today, the daily reported.

“Many work with the same old people just for namesake. There are no new organisations. Therefore, a separate law should be presented regarding the constitution of political parties, their work, how to recruit members, how to select central committees, and how to select candidates."

He also said the main reason for corruption in the country's politics is the preferential system, insisting that it was imperative to prepare a new voting system.

“A decision should be taken to implement either the list method without preference or the mixed method (single and proportional method). A decision should be taken after discussions before the upcoming election and that election should be held under the new system,” the Daily FT quoted him as saying.

Wickremesinghe also pointed out the need to curtail the election expenditure through the election laws.

“When I contested in the 1977 elections, there were limitations. We had to work in keeping with these limitations. We were unable to even spend on posters. Hence, we must introduce limitations on election expenditure.

“This will enhance transparency on how to collect money, and in what cases money cannot be collected. Then anyone can challenge the misuse of financials in the courts. I intend to appoint a separate commission to present their proposals in this regard. All this needs to be done next year,” he added.

He also pledged to present to Parliament a code of conduct and values of the MPs, similar to that in the British Parliament, the report added.

The President felt that if they bring all these rules and regulations and make these amendments, Parliament can win the people's trust again.

UNI MR。

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