MOSCOW/BEIJING, Nov 15: The Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom on Friday strongly condemned an attack by whom it called anti-China activists on Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, the secretary for Justice of China’s Hong Kong special administrative region, perpetrated during her visit to the United Kingdom.
The incident took place on Thursday. The embassy said that the official had been besieged and attacked by dozens of activists and had sustained a hand injury as she had been pushed to the ground by them.
“We express strong indignation and unequivocally condemn the activists. We urge the British police to carry out a thorough investigation into this incident, bring the offenders to justice and strengthen security protection on Chinese personnel and institutions in the UK,” the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy argued that the attack had been coordinated online. The diplomatic mission claimed those who were behind it sought to destabilize Hong Kong, paralyze its authorities and undermine China’s “One country, two systems” principle.
Chinese media reported earlier on Friday that the justice secretary, who was behind the infamous extradition bill that provoked large-scale protests in Hong Kong, had been attacked by about 30 activists angry about the authorities’ way of addressing the protests.
The footage of the incident, published on social media, showed that the official had been surrounded by dozens of shouting people. Still, it is unclear if she was pushed to the ground by someone from the crowd or fell down on her own.
The secretary’s office said in a statement, as quoted by South China Morning Post, that she had reported the incident to the London police and asked them to “take the case seriously and put the culprits to justice.”
“The Secretary for Justice castigates the violent mob in London today causing her serious bodily harm on her way to an event venue. The secretary denounces all forms of violence and radicalism depriving others’ legitimate rights in the pretext of pursuing their political ideals, which would never be in the interest of Hong Kong and any civilized society,” the office added.
Meanwhile, in a statement, released by the Hong Kong government on Friday, the region’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, expressed her outrage over the incident.
“Pointing out that the attack was barbaric and violated the principles of a civilized society, Mrs. Lam said the act should be strongly condemned. She expressed hope that the local police will follow up on the case thoroughly to bring the offenders to justice,” the statement argued.
The rallies in Hong Kong have been underway since June. Despite the extradition bill, opposed by protesters, has been retracted, the violent unrest continued.
(AGENCIES)
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