‘DON’T TORTURE ME’
Hong Kong protests – Brit consulate worker says he was ‘abducted, shackled and tortured’ by China’
A BRITISH consulate worker has claimed he was abducted, shackled and tortured in China.
Simon Cheng, a Hong Kong citizen who worked for the UK government for almost two years, said he was also accused of inciting political unrest in the city.
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The 29-year-old told he was detained for 15 days during a tip to mainland China in August.
Mr Cheng said: "I was shackled, blindfolded and hooded."
UK government sources say they believe Mr Cheng's claims and that his account of being beaten and forced to sign confessions are credible.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has since summoned the Chinese ambassador for answers.
Mr Raab told the BBC: "We are outraged by the disgraceful mistreatment that Mr Cheng faced when he was in detention in mainland China and we've made clear that we expect the Chinese authorities to review and hold to account those responsible."
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said they would "definitely not accept" being summoned and will in turn summon the UK ambassador to "express their indignation";.
They also told the BBC: "We hope the UK will be prudent and stop interfering in Hong Kong and in China's domestic affairs because it will, eventually, only harm the UK's own interests."
I was blindfolded and hooded during the whole torture and interrogations, I sweated a lot, and felt exhausted, dizzy and suffocated.
Simon Cheng
Mr Cheng released this morning detailing what happened when he was detained.
On August 8, Mr Cheng travelled to Shenzhen for a business trip and was stopped at Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station in the mainland by two uniformed police officers.
He taken to various police stations where "prisoner photos", blood and urine samples, as well his fingerprints were taken.
Mr Cheng said he was interrogated and buckled into a "tiger chair", which prevented him from moving.
He was asked about his role in the Hong Kong "riots", the UK's role, and his relation to people in the mainland who had joined the "riots".
Mr Cheng said he was told he was going to be charged as a “criminal suspect of armed rebellion and rioting”.
He was forced to give a confession after officers assured him he would not get a criminal record under administrative detention.
Mr Cheng said: "I was hung (handcuffed and shackled) on a steep X-Cross doing a spread-eagled pose for hours after hours. I was forced to keep my hands up, so blood cannot be pumped up my arms.
"It felt extremely painful. Sometimes, they ordered me to do the 'stress tests', which includes extreme strength exercise such as 'squat' and 'chair pose' for countless hours.
"They beat me every time I failed to do so using something like sharpened batons.
"They also poked my vulnerable and shivering body parts, such as knee joint.
"I was blindfolded and hooded during the whole torture and interrogations, I sweated a lot, and felt exhausted, dizzy and suffocated."
WHY ARE PEOPLE IN HONG KONG PROTESTING?
Since Britain withdrew from the territory in 1997, Hong Kong has been a semi-autonomous region in China operating under the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems'.
Hong Kong is part of China, but its citizens enjoy more political freedoms than do those living in mainland China.
Under the agreement that saw Hong Kong handed back to China, Beijing agreed to guarantee Hong Kong's political and economic systems for 50 years after the transfer, but many within Hong Kong have already become concerned about the influence exerted by Beijing within the territory.
The current round of protests first erupted in June over a proposed law that would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China.
Both the Hong Kong and Chinese governments argued the law was a necessary security measure, but opponents feared that China could use it to target its political opponents within Hong Kong.
The law was eventually scrapped at the start of September, but by then the protests had broadened into a call for greater democratic freedoms and guarantees against Chinese influence.
Authorities have met the demonstrations with violence, deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition on unarmed protesters.
More than 2,000 injuries and 3,000 arrests have been reported so far.
Mr Cheng said in his statement his detention treatment dramatically improved on the 11th day, which is the around the same time international media started questioning his disappearance.
Since his release, he was forced to resign from his post and he was given a two-year working visa for the UK.
Mr Cheng has come forward about his detention as hundreds of demonstrators had occupied the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Cops had surrounded the university and were arresting anyone who left after bombarding protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Activists had retaliated by firing arrows and using a homemade catapult to hurl petrol bombs at police.
Earlier the Chinese ambassador to the UK said the recent escalation of violence had "pushed Hong Kong into an extremely dangerous situation".
Liu Xiaoming warned the city faced an "unimaginable and dreadful" future if the unrest continued.
He also said foreign governments - including the US and UK - should stop interfering in the city's affairs.
MOST READ IN WORLD NEWS
Pro-democracy demonstrations are now in their fifth month in the city, and have seen dozens of protesters arrested and injured in violent clashes with police.
Protesters began in opposition to a now-abandoned law that would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China, but are now calling for greater democratic reforms and guarantees against the increasing influence of Beijing in the city state.
China has repeatedly threatened to intervene if protests continue.
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