China demands apology for removal of reporter from UK Tory meeting after she 'slapped' organiser

A video uploaded on YouTube showed the China Central Television (CCTV) reporter heckling at the event and then apparently slapping one of the organisers.

Image: Screen-grab of video uploaded by Guardian News on YouTube

New Delhi: Chinese embassy in London demanded an apology for the removal of a Chinese state TV journalist from a fringe event about Hong Kong at the ruling Conservative party’s conference after she reportedly heckled one of the organisers. A video uploaded on YouTube by Guardian News showed the China Central Television (CCTV) reporter heckling at the event and then apparently slapping one of the organisers. As per AFP, the 48-year-old woman journalist was held in custody overnight after being arrested on suspicion of common assault, but was later released. Enoch Lieu, a party activist helping at the event, told AFP she slapped him twice after he had asked her to leave for shouting at one of the speakers and accusing him of being anti-China. "I stood in front of her and said can you please go, trying to show her the way out. Then out of the blue she slapped me in the face," 24-year-old was quoted as saying. "I was obviously very shocked, as I was merely trying to escort her out... I didn't touch her." He continued asking her to leave and she slapped him again, Lieu alleges, saying the incident was only resolved when police arrived. The woman’s release from custody left him shocked he said. However, the Chinese embassy posted on its website in English saying her ejection was "completely unacceptable.” "In a country that boasts freedom of speech, it is puzzling that the Chinese journalist should encounter obstruction in such a way and even assault at the fringe event when she simply raised a question and expressed her opinions," it said. China Central Television (CCTV) of the China Media Group (CMG) is strongly opposed to the UK's violation of the rights of one of its journalists at an event on Hong Kong, and demands an apology, China’s state broadcaster CGTN reported. It stated that CCTV reporter Kong Linlin "was blocked and assaulted when she raised a question and expressed her opinion". It quoted a CCTV spokesperson saying it was "unacceptable" and called for an apology from organisers, urging British police to "protect her legitimate rights".