Police drop charges against Tiananmen Square survivor who protested during President Xi Jinping’s visit
Pro-democracy activist Shao Jiang was detained after he attempted to block the President's motorcade in London
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A survivor of the Tiananmen Square massacre who was arrested after holding protest banners during the Chinese President’s state visit to Britain last week has had all charges against him dropped, police have confirmed.
Shao Jiang, 47, a pro-democracy activist, was detained by the Metropolitan Police after he attempted to block Xi Jinping’s motorcade outside Mansion House in London last Wednesday.
Two Tibetan women who were arrested after waving their national flag at the passing motorcade, have also been released with no further action, police said.
The arrests had prompted accusations that the Met was doing the bidding of the Chinese regime, during a visit in which Mr Xi was granted the highest honours afforded to a visiting head of state, including a banquet at Buckingham Palace and an audience in Westminster Hall.
Fabian Hamilton, Labour MP for Leeds North East, raised the treatment of the protesters in an urgent question in the House of Commons on Monday. He told The Independent: “I’m absolutely delighted by this outcome. There were no charges to answer. They were protesting peacefully, legally, without any trouble. The idea that this was a conspiracy to breach the peace would not have stood up in court.”
The Met has denied that any “political manipulation” took place, but has faced calls for an investigation of its treatment of protesters. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the response had been “heavy-handed”, while Ann Clwyd, the Labour MP who chairs the all-party group on human rights, said she would raise the case with the Home Secretary Theresa May.
Police also raided the home of Mr Jiang, which his wife, Johanna Zhang, said had left the couple “traumatised”, reviving “awful” memories of a raid on his home by police in China.
Responding to Mr Hamilton’s urgent question on Monday, policing minister Mike Penning confirmed three individuals had been arrested for breach of the peace and suspicion of conspiracy to commit threatening behaviour. He said policing plans for the state visit had been briefed to the Home Secretary.