A video has emerged of a pro-democracy protester being beaten in Hong Kong.
In the video of a protest on Wednesday, a handcuffed man is dragged and beaten by six men who appear to be plainclothes Hong Kong police officers.
The Los Angeles Times identifies the protestor in the video as Ken Tsang, “a member of the pro-democracy Civic Party and a volunteer social worker.”
>>> Reasons This Pro-Democracy Leader Says Hong Kong’s Young Protesters Have Won Already
According to the South China Morning Post, after leaving the North Point Police Station, Tsang read a “prepared statement” to local media and showed them wounds on his head and torso.
“You should have seen the TV footage of a number of police officers brutally assaulting me,” said Tsang. “While I was… utterly defenseless. Prior to that I had already been assaulted, and was later yet again assaulted in the police station.”
The video is renewing tensions in the city.
Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said that the video is a reminder of the severity of the situation in Hong Kong:
This brutal beating highlight why protest leader Joshua Wong has called on the international community not to forget what is taking place in Hong Kong and to keep up the pressure on the Chinese government to stand by its promises. Beijing has promised Hong Kong that it would have a high degree of autonomy and that its freedoms would be respected. Among these freedoms China explicitly promised to respect freedom of the press and yet we hear this morning that TVB management in Hong Kong attempted to censor the video of the beating.
Under the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act, the United States has the responsibility to support Hong Kong’s democratization, and I am happy that senators such as Ted Cruz, Cory Booker, Marco Rubio, John McCain and many others have sent President Obama [a letter] reminding him of his responsibility to stand up for the people of Hong Kong.
The video quickly sparked international outrage after appearing on social media.
According to Sky News, the Hong Kong Police Department has suspended six officers in relation to the incident.