UK: Protester calls assault at Chinese Consulate ‘barbaric’

LONDON (AP) — A Hong Kong protester has described getting pulled into the Chinese Consulate in Manchester, England, and beaten up by several staff members. Bob Chan said he and others were holding a peaceful antigovernment protest outside the consulate on Sunday when masked men came out, tore down the protesters’ banners and dragged him inside the buildings gates. Speaking during a news conference in London on Wednesday, Chan rejected the Chinese government’s claim that he had illegally entered the consulate’s grounds and threatened its security. Chan’s supporters alleged the Chinese consul general in Manchester and other Chinese diplomats took part in the reported assault.