Chinese ambassador denies torture claims

Liu Xiaoming said Simon Cheng's "lawful rights and interests were guaranteed in accordance with law." Photo courtesy of the Chinese Embassy to the UK

China’s ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, has denied accusations by a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong that he was detained and tortured by mainland police seeking information about anti-government protests in Hong Kong.



Simon Cheng had said in an online statement and media interviews that he was hooded, beaten, deprived of sleep and chained to an X-shaped frame by plainclothes and uniformed agents as they sought information on activists involved in the protests and the role they believed Britain played in the demonstrations.



British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab summoned Liu to demand Beijing investigate the matter.



But the Chinese Embassy issued a statement quoting Liu as saying Cheng had confessed to violating public security administration laws and got 15 days of administrative detention in Shenzhen in August, and all his legal rights were protected according to law.



The ambassador also expressed his “grave concern and strong opposition” to Britain’s ‘incorrect’ comments about Hong Kong in recent days.



Liu said the unrest in Hong Kong has nothing to do with democracy or freedom that western politicians and media have been trumpeting, but rather is a case of extreme, violent lawbreakers trampling all over the rule of law, and disrupting social order. He said they had destroyed Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, challenged the bottom line of One Country, Two Systems.



Liu said the British should stop condoning acts of extreme violence, and cease all interference into China’s internal affairs.