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。 Sri Lanka on Tuesday opened its fuel import and retail sales markets for firms belonging to oil-producing countries, a measure which the government hopes may ease crippling shortages that have paralyzed most of the economic activity in the island nation.,The move will also end the duopoly of state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), controlling 80% of the fuel market, and Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian Oil Corporation.,The cabinet approved the proposal hours before a high-level delegation left for Qatar and Russia to arrange fuel for immediate needs.,Minister of Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said the firms would be able to operate without Forex requirements from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and other banks.,“This exemption of Forex requirements will be permitted for the first few months of operations,” the minister said.,The cabinet has asked the CPC to provide its logistics, stocking, and distribution service to the foreign firm, suggesting that the government would privatize a debt-ridden state-run firm which controls around 80 percent of the market.,However, the refinery business will remain with the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, which was operating with a monthly loss of approximately $90 million last year.,On Monday, the government restricted fuel sales to port, health services, and food transport until 11 July, citing the "unprecedented state of finance and foreign exchange crisis.”,“All other sectors are requested to stay at home and provide services online in this difficult time,” Bandula Gunawardena, the government spokesman, said.,Last Wednesday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the economy had “completely collapsed,” showing the inability to purchase fuel as shortages of essentials and electricity worsen.,The government is in talks with Qatar, Russia, and India to arrange for fuel until the forex crisis gets resolved. The island nation has also planned a credit conference with the participation of India, China, and Japan to arrange for loans for food and fuel purchases.,A negotiation with the International Monetary Fund is in progress and will likely be finalized by July.,Want to know more? Check out our Koo & Telegram accounts!,Koo: https://www.kooapp.com/profile/sputniknews,Sputnik India: https://t.me/sputniknewsindia。
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