The UK’s Foreign Office has summoned Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang to explain the treatment of a BBC journalist, foreign secretary James Cleverly confirmed on Tuesday.
Foreign Office minister David Rutley told Parliament earlier in the day that the department will demand a “full and thorough explanation” from the Chinese ambassador.
Edward Lawrence, a BBC reporter in China, was arrested in Shanghai on Sunday while reporting on protests against the communist regime’s zero-COVID policy.
A BBC statement said Lawrence was handcuffed, beaten, kicked, and held for a few hours before being released.
Footage circulated online appeared to show Lawrence being tackled to the ground by a group of police and taken away. The crowd could be heard chanting, “Release the man.”…