British ministers have been urged immediately to expel a senior Chinese diplomat who admitted being involved in violence against protesters in Manchester, as the government faced growing criticism over its “weak and supine” response.
Zheng Xiyuan, the Chinese consul general, said it was his “duty” to grab the hair of a pro-democracy campaigner who was badly injured after being dragged inside the consulate grounds on Sunday.
Zheng, one of the most senior Chinese diplomats in the UK, denied attacking anybody but said he had tried to “control the situation”, adding: “The man abused my country, my leader – I think it’s my duty.”
MPs from across the Commons called on Thursday for the government to take tough and immediate action against the Chinese officials involved.
The Foreign Office minister Jesse Norman told MPs that if police believed criminal offences had taken place then the UK would expect China to waive diplomatic immunity for the suspects. If Beijing refused to waive this immunity, he said, then “diplomatic consequences will follow”.
Addressing MPs, Norman said footage of the incident looked “damning”.
But the government’s language, although notably stronger than in previous days, failed to assuage the concerns of MPs from all parties. Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said Zheng’s remarks were an “admission of guilt”, adding: “He must be expelled immediately.”
The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith described the violence as an “outrageous and violent attack” on peaceful protesters and said all involved should be “made persona non grata immediately and sent back to China”. He added: “The government has the diplomatic power to dismiss them whether or not there are criminal proceedings. The fact is, we do not want them here in the UK and they must go.”
Layla Moran, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson, described the official response as “ridiculous” and said that “given [Zheng’s] admission, the lack of action by the government is frankly laughable at this point. This is now a political decision.”
The Labour MP Clive Efford said the “evidence is absolutely clear” and the government’s reluctance to immediately expel Chinese officials was “supine and weak”.
Footage filmed by campaigners appeared to show several men, including one wearing a riot helmet and two wearing stab vests, emerge from the consulate and start tearing down banners before the violence erupted.
One of the Hong Kong protesters, Bob Chan, was filmed being dragged into the consulate grounds and beaten by several men. He was treated in hospital overnight for several injuries sustained in the assault.
On Wednesday, Chan said he was “shocked and hurt by this unprovoked attack”, which he said had prompted nightmares about possible repercussions against his family.
In a letter to Greater Manchester police, shared with the Guardian, Zheng said his staff took action over banners that were “deliberately designed to provoke, harass, alarm and distress our consular staff”.
He said they included a picture of China’s president, Xi Jinping, with a noose around his neck, along with slogans in Chinese saying “God kill CPC [Communist party of China]” and “fuck your mother”.
