UK police are investigating allegations that security personnel at the Chinese Embassy in London brandished electric-shock weapons at Tibetan protesters during a candlelight vigil, an incident that has prompted the British government to raise the matter directly with the embassy.
Video footage from the July 3 protest appears to show two people inside the embassy entrance holding baton-like devices that produce visible electrical sparks and gesturing toward protesters outside, The Telegraph reported.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the Chinese Embassy on Portland Place at around 6 p.m. after receiving reports of a protest.
“Two protesters alleged that embassy staff had pointed a taser towards them,” police said, adding that no injuries were reported. The force said no arrests have been made and investigators are reviewing evidence, including video supplied by witnesses.
The Chinese Embassy has denied the allegations. In an Aug. 30 statement, an embassy spokesperson called the claims “fabrication and defamation” and accused protesters of obstructing the embassy entrance and attempting to enter the grounds.
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The embassy said it contacted local police during the July 3 demonstration and lodged representations with the British government.
Protesters gathered for Tibetan activist
The demonstration was organized as a candlelight vigil for Lobga Rangzen, a Tibetan activist who died after setting himself on fire outside United Nations headquarters in New York on July 2.
An announcement for the London vigil said Tibetan community members and supporters planned to gather outside the embassy from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to commemorate Rangzen and draw attention to concerns over Beijing’s policies in Tibet.
The advocacy group Free Tibet said the footage showed Chinese Embassy security personnel holding what it described as “live stun batons” toward demonstrators. The group characterized the incident as an example of transnational repression, a term used to describe governments targeting critics or dissidents outside their borders.
Electric stun guns are classified as prohibited weapons under Section 5 of Britain’s Firearms Act 1968. Current Home Office firearms guidance says courts have held that stun guns fall under the act and that anyone seeking to possess, acquire, manufacture, sell or transfer such a weapon must obtain authorization from the secretary of state.
British customs guidance also identifies electric-shock devices, including stun guns, among goods prohibited from being brought into the country without the necessary authorization.
The British government has raised the allegations directly with the Chinese Embassy, according to British media reports.
“Any attempts by a foreign state to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm individuals on UK soil will never be tolerated,” a British government source told The Telegraph.
Conservative lawmaker Alicia Kearns has also questioned how the alleged weapons were obtained and said she would raise the matter with the home secretary. Former security minister Tom Tugendhat linked the allegations to questions surrounding China’s planned new embassy in London.
Rights groups call for government action
The incident has prompted a coalition of Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Kong and other human rights groups to call for further action from the British government.
In an open letter published Aug. 20, Free Tibet and other organizations urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government to seek a waiver of diplomatic immunity for any accredited personnel implicated in the incident so that police could investigate without diplomatic restrictions.
The groups also asked the government to determine how any prohibited electric-shock weapons could have entered or been obtained by the diplomatic mission. The letter stressed that its requests did not presume the outcome of the police investigation.
The allegations have also attracted attention because of the continuing controversy surrounding China’s planned new embassy at Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London.
The British government approved the project in January. According to Reuters, on July 31, the High Court rejected a legal challenge from local residents seeking to overturn that approval. Opponents have raised concerns that the large diplomatic complex could be used to monitor dissidents or restrict demonstrations, while British intelligence agencies have said security risks associated with the site can be mitigated.
The latest case also recalls a 2022 confrontation outside the Chinese Consulate in Manchester, where Hong Kong democracy protester Bob Chan was pulled onto consulate grounds and assaulted. Six Chinese officials later left Britain after the government requested that they be made available for police questioning. No charges were brought.
For now, the circumstances surrounding the July 3 London incident remain under investigation. Police have not determined publicly whether the devices seen in the footage were functioning prohibited weapons or identified the individuals holding them.
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