CHINESE citizens were encouraged to kill an Edinburgh University student who demonstrated in support of Hong Kong.

The student, 20, is from Chengdu in central China, and was pictured in Princes Street with a sign supporting Hong Kong's right for democracy, and urging an end to police violence.

2 Chinese citizens were urged to beat an Edinburgh uni student to death (stock image) Credit: AFP or licensors

He was then photographed taking his mum to her flight at Edinburgh airport.

According to The Times, the pics were posted to Chinese social media site Weibo, along with the flight number and a call for him to be arrested or battered to death.

It read: "Brothers from Chengdu, beat him to death."

The post was shared 10,000 times, but has been condemned by both sides of the divide.

The student, who goes by the name Qin, told The Times: “Most of the horror stories you have heard about China are true.

“People are arrested for dissenting views online, and I have had friends who were taken by police to the station for ‘a talk’.

2 The student supported Hong Kong democracy on Princes Street Credit: AFP or licensors

“You could be arrested for ‘picking quarrels’ or ‘inciting social unrest’ and given a 15 day detention.

“If you have said something influential that it is bad news for you. There are other informal things that they can do to you.

“If you are a university teacher you could be fired, and that is becoming commonplace. They can threaten my parents. If my parents were civil servants they could lose their jobs.

“There is no hanging in China, but imagine being a black person in the US. That is how dissenters are treated.”

He also said he was shunned by fellow Chinese students in the capital.

He said: “I am isolated. I have been at Edinburgh University for several years and I do not know more than five students from mainland China. I know many more students from Hong Kong, Europe and Scotland.”

Alistair Carmichael, the former Liberal Democrat Scottish secretary, said: “These are utterly despicable posts. The way that China has reacted to protests in Hong Kong has been heavy handed and authoritarian and for this behaviour to extend its tendrils into Scotland is beyond the pale.”

Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens’ external affairs spokesman, said: “Maybe these horrific revelations that Beijing tortured a former member of their staff will make the Scottish Government realise that China policy based on ‘trade-based diplomacy’ and ‘exporting Scottish values’ of democracy and freedom has been a comprehensive failure.”

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Ketong Zhang, president of the Glasgow Chinese Students and Scholars Association, said: “We condemn all forms of violence including violence online and hate speech. As the students are self-organised, we have information on the post. We may disagree with the Chinese student but we respect freedom of speech and recognise the right of the Chinese student to express his ideas.”

An Edinburgh University spokesman said: “Student safety and wellbeing is the university’s top priority and we take reports of this nature very seriously. We are monitoring events in Hong Kong closely, with university staff providing help and support to students affected by events there.”

We previously told how Edinburgh University recalled exchange students from Hong Kong amid the violent protests.

Protesters saw a victory this weekend in their district elections with a landslide 90 per cent majority for pro-democracy councillors.

Half the population had registered to vote in the usually uneventful elections, with this weekend also marking the first break in clashes between cops and protesters in almost six months.

According to reports from local media, 17 of the 18 councils are now controlled by pro-democracy supporters.

Hong Kong consulate worker Simon Cheng says he was ‘abducted & tortured' by China

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