Hong Kong and China condemn attack on justice secretary
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Chinese and Hong Kong governments condemned on Friday an attack by a “violent mob” on the city’s justice secretary in London, the first direct altercation between demonstrators and a government minister during months of often violent protests.
Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, who was in London to promote Hong Kong as a dispute resolution and dealmaking hub, was targeted by a group of protesters who shouted “murderer” and “shameful”.
A statement by the Hong Kong government said Cheng suffered “serious bodily harm” but gave no details.
The Chinese embassy in the UK said Cheng was pushed to the ground and sustained a hand injury.
“(Cheng) was besieged and attacked by dozens of anti-China and pro-independence activists,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement. The incident showed that the “violent and lawless perpetrators” were now taking their violence abroad, it said.
China has lodged a formal complaint with Britain and urged British authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam also strongly condemned the attack.
The former British colony’s government said in a separate statement: “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.”
Thousands of students remain hunkered down at several universities, surrounded by piles of food, bricks, petrol bombs, catapults and other homemade weapons.
Police said the prestigious Chinese University had “become a manufacturing base for petrol bombs” and the students’ actions were “another step closer to terrorism”.
Around 4,000 people, aged between 12 and 83, have been arrested since the unrest escalated in June.