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A Tiananmen Square crackdown survivor and two British Tibetan protesters have been arrested and detained overnight by British police, according to a community protest group.
The trio, understood to include Chinese democracy activist Shao Jiang, were arrested outside an event in the City of London where President Xi Jinping was in attendance.
As Britain has signed a flurry of deals with China worth US$46 billion, including a centrepiece nuclear power station agreement, Prime Minister David Cameron has come under fire for deepening ties with Beijing while overlooking human rights issues.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed a man and two women were arrested to prevent a breach of the peace.
Police talk to Chinese democracy activist Shao Jiang. Photo: SCMP Pictures
“At around 4.30pm on Wednesday, October 21 officers on the security operation for the visiting Chinese president arrested a man in the Bank area to prevent a breach of the peace,” a police spokeswoman said.
“Two women were arrested nearby shortly after, also to prevent a breach of the peace.
“All three were further arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit threatening behaviour. They were taken into custody at a central London police station where they remain at this time.”
Chinese democracy activist Shao Jiang stages a protest during Xi Jinping's UK visit. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Tsering Passang, chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain organisation, said two of his members, Sonam, 30, and Jamphel, 33, were arrested at Mansion House, after they attempted to wave Tibetan flags at Xi’s passing car and “were forcefully taken away by police.”
“As a British Tibetan, I am shocked that the Met Police would arrest peaceful protesters. Tibetans are being silenced both in their homeland and now in the UK.
“I demand fair treatment for all protesters who are standing up for human rights and democracy and demand the immediate release of Sonam, Jamphel and Shao Jiang”, he wrote on Facebook.
Chinese dissident Shao was a leading figure in the 1989 student movement and helped draft a list of demands during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
A protester is led away by police. Photo: SCMP Pictures
At a joint-press conference on Wednesday, Xi responded to a British journalist’s question on human rights, stating there was “room for improvement” in China’s record.
“Coming to the human rights issue, China attaches great importance to human rights. We have found a path suited to China’s conditions,” he said.
“There is always room for improvement in the world. China is ready to increase cooperation with the UK and other countries over human rights.”
Protester and supporters of Chinese President Xi Jinping gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday. Photo: AP
British police arrested a survivor of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown and raided his home after he stepped out in front of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s motorcade, police and campaigners said on Friday.
Shao Jiang could be seen being dragged away by several police officers after he breached a security barrier and stood alone in front of the cars on Wednesday in footage aired on Channel 4 television.
London police said Jiang, a 47-year-old academic and a blogger for human rights group Amnesty International, was arrested on suspicion of “conspiracy to commit threatening behaviour”.
Two Tibetan woman were also arrested with Jiang and the homes of all three were searched.
They were bailed on Thursday after being detained overnight as the investigation continues.
Xi’s state visit to Britain this week has proved controversial, with campaigners accusing the British government of glossing over human rights abuses in China for the sake of investment deals.
His wife Johanna Zhang told of her shock at the arrest and subsequent search of their home.
“I was really shocked. I couldn’t believe that such a thing could happen in the UK,” she said.
“It reminded me of the time when our home was raided by police in China before we fled, before we became political refugees. It’s almost like our life in exile was turned upside down,” she said.
Zhang said police took a computer, a laptop, a tablet and a USB key and ordered her husband not to come within 100 metres of Xi.
She said he was holding up two Amnesty signs when he was arrested – one reading “End Autocracy” and the other saying “Democracy Now”.
Amnesty representative Allan Hogarth said: “This looks like a very heavy-handed response to a peaceful demonstration.
“The police need to urgently explain to Shao Jiang why they entered his property and took his possessions”,” he said.
London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “We facilitate peaceful protests ... but we will also investigate possible criminality that could put the safety of London at risk.”
Jiang played an “active role in the 1989 pro-democracy movement” in China, according to Amnesty’s website.
He was arrested in China in 1995 and fled in 2003, initially settling in Sweden.
Hundreds – by some estimates more than a thousand – died after the Communist Party sent tanks in June 1989 to crush demonstrations on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, where student-led protesters had staged a peaceful sit-in to demand democratic reforms.
