British Consulate ex-staffer in Hong Kong accuses Chinese police of torture

A former employee of the UK’s Hong Kong consulate has alleged that he was tortured by Chinese secret police while he was detained for 15 days. Simon Cheng, 29, was detained when he was returning from a trip to China but the reason for his detention was not provided by the administration. Cheng, who worked for the British consulate as trade and investment officer, accused China of torturing him in order to extract information on activists involved in the anti-government protests of Hong Kong. 

British official summons Chinese ambassador

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab summoned Chinese Ambassador to express their outrage at the ‘brutal and disgraceful’ treatment and demanded Beijing to investigate the matter. 

“Simon Cheng was a valued member of our team. We were shocked and appalled by the mistreatment he suffered while in Chinese detention, which amounts to torture,” said Raab in a statement. 

“I have made clear we expect the Chinese authorities to investigate and hold those responsible to account. The FCO is working to support Simon and his fiancée, including to come to the UK,” he added.

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China registers strong opposition

While Britain was appalled by the incident, China was in no mood to acknowledge their complaint. “The Chinese ambassador to the U.K. will lodge the complaints with the U.K. to express our strong opposition and indignation to the U.K.’s wrong words and deeds on Hong Kong in these days,” said China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang.

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No respite from Hong Kong protests

Hong Kong is in turmoil due to six months of anti-government protests that are getting violent with every passing day. Protestors have resorted to medieval weapons like bow and arrows and often retaliate with Molotov cocktails and other homemade weapons to resist arrest. They have made university campuses as their battlefield for anti-government protests and police are constantly trying to pull them out of the campus and arrest them. 

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(With AP Inputs)