Facial Recognition

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A former employee of The British Hong Kong Consulate, told the BBC That he was tortured, in China and accused of inciting unrest in The City .

Simon Cheng, a Hong Kong citizen, worked for The British government for almost two years in Custody for 15 days on a trip to Mainland China in August.

"I was tied up, blindfolded and hooded," the 29-year-old told me.

British government sources say they believe That His claims - beaten, and forced to give Confessions under write - credible.

after our interview, The British foreign Minister Dominic Raab , the Chinese Ambassador called.

"We are outraged by the shameful ill-treatment, faced by Mr Cheng when he was in Detention in the people's Republic of China. and we have made it clear That we expect to check That the Chinese authorities, and hold to account those responsible," Mr Raab told the BBC.

But on Wednesday, a Chinese foreign Ministry spokesman told the BBC she "absolutely can not accept The British government's interference in this case" - and would in turn summon the UK Ambassador to "express their resistance and anger".

"We hope That the UK will be prudent and stop interfering in Hong Kong and in China's internal Affairs, because in the end it will only harm Britain's own interests," stressed the spokesman added.

Mr. Cheng says That he spent His free time collecting information about the Hong Kong protests, on the insistence of The British Consulate, Mr. Cheng ' s raises questions, for both the Chinese and The British government.

The claims That he makes - That he saw other Hongkongers in Chinese Detention - likely to fuel protesters, " the fears That your city will be eroded the freedoms under Chinese rule.

"You said You work for the Secret Service , and there are no Human Rights ," he tells me. "Then they began the torture. "

Who is Simon Cheng is? As a trade and investment officer at The British Consulate, Simon, Cheng and His special task was, so to drum up interest in investment in Scotland of the Chinese business community.

It is necessary for him country-China, travel to fixed.

logged in But in June, with Hong Kong being engulfed in mass demonstrations, Mr Cheng volunteered for an additional role.

"The British Consulate instructed to collect employees, information about the status of the protests," he says.

As a supporter of the pro-democracy movement, he found to mix it is easy and, with the consent of the Consulate, he signed to some of the Social Media groups through which the protesters coordinated their actions.

Paid overtime for The Information That he collected, began, he reported what he saw to His colleagues.

Its task, Mr Cheng and The British government sources, was not to direct events in any way, but purely watching - the kind of civil society do the monitoring of the work of many embassies.

Mr. Cheng says he was paid to gather information on the Hong Kong protests, But China had already begun to accuse Britain of interfering in Hong Kong , with British politicians, the always vocal in their support for the protesters.

8. In August, associate Shenzhen with E-Mails on His cell phone with him to this work, the observation of the protests, he was sent by the Consulate to a business conference in the Chinese city.

He did not know it, but His life was about to change forever.

How could he disappear? Although China dominated Hong Kong for More Than 20 years, looks like The Border between The City and the mainland still and feels like an international border.

"one country, two systems" Principle -That the protesters say they will fight to preserve is meant to ensure That Hong Kong retains control over most of their Affairs, including their boundaries.

But Simon Cheng discover for themselves the blurry edges, the legal and political framework.

Since the opening of the Hong Kong -Shenzhen high-speed Rail Link , in The Last year, a new border post has been. placed in The West Kowloon Station , in The Heart of Hong Kong

The West -Kowloon Railway Station , where Mr. Cheng was initially arrested, has also seen protests, It is deeply controversial: Hong Kong 's pro-democracy movement's views of The Presence of the Chinese police, the Chinese side, as an unwelcome expansion of the Chinese authority.

It was here they held Simon Cheng, returning from His Business Trip .

He was on a train and transported back to Shenzhen and handed over, he says, three police officers from China to the National Security of The Police .

How he goes on to describe His ordeal? Raised His arms above His head, Mr Cheng is showing me how he was hung from The Chain , the joints of the handcuffs on His wrists.

The Questions have focused on His involvement in the protests, with the aim, he says, force You to confess him, to unrest, to stir up in the name of The British state.

"they wanted to know what role the UK had asked in the Hong Kong protests-what support, money and equipment That we gave to the protesters. "

The Detention facility, where Mr Cheng claims he was held, he says, He was made to hold stress positions, crouching against a wall, for Example , for hours on end, and beaten if he moved.

"the bony parts would hit my ankle. or vulnerable part. "

He claims That he has been exposed to, sleep deprivation, and His field investigators to him, the Chinese national anthem and force You to sing to keep themselves awake.

And he believes he is the only Hong Kong was not of such a treatment.

"I saw a bunch of people in Hong Kong were detained and questioned. I Heard someone speak, to say in Cantonese: "Lift your hands - they raised the flags in the protest, You have not?'"

the Background of the Hong Kong protest from a large pile of More Than 1,000 photos of Hong Kong protesters, he says, he was told to write down the name and the political affiliation of the he recognized no one.

"said The Secret police clear That batches were taken in batches to the Hong Kong demonstrators, delivered and detained in the mainland of China. "

to open and strapped to a chair and held up by His hair, he says, she tried to force him, His cell phone, using the face detection function.

Once they'd gained access, they printed from the E-Mails detailing The Information he had, to the UK Consulate about the protests.

"I told You , I want it to be 100% clear, the UK has the allocation of resources or help with the protests," he tells me.

But it was no use. Finally, she made him two video Confessions , he says, for the "betrayal of the Fatherland" and one for "soliciting Prostitution ".

Why was he imprisoned? The arrest of a local employee of a foreign Embassy or Consulate is a relatively rare event.

The Last high-profile case with the UK, the arrest in 2009, was A Number of Iranian employees of The British Embassy in Tehran. They were accused of a major role in violent demonstrations - a charge That finds its echo in Simon Cheng ' s account to play this year.

Mr. Cheng, photographed in a BBC interview, says he was forced into stress positions, the by China's National Security police As in His own case, local employees usually have no diplomatic protection, they may make soft targets for information extraction.

But Mr Cheng may have been targeted for other reasons.

he says to me That He had arrested a Chinese friend of mine who was due to participate in the Hong Kong protests and was now on bail.

During His Business Trip to Shenzhen, without the knowledge of The British Consulate, Mr Cheng had, met the relatives of this friend in order to collect money for His living.

Each of the main countries known to have been monitoring the pro-democracy demonstrations, would be in danger, under a Chinese.

Although collecting money for a friend in legal difficulties is unlikely to be A Crime , even in China, it could have well placed, Mr Cheng, the suspect.

I ask him what he thinks is The Most likely reason for His imprisonment - His position at The British Consulate, or His friendship with the Chinese mainland, a protester?

"up Until Now , I have no idea," he replies. "But I think That both of these factors could be a reason for it. "

Why was he released? In addition to our interview, Mr Cheng, what happened to him.

In which he says That on the 11. Day of the imprisonment of His treatment all of a sudden a date, he says, coincides with The First international media reports about His disappearance.

British government sources say That behind-the-scenes intense diplomatic activity was underway, in order to secure to try for His release.

China is only the public version of the events - the claim That he was in the 15 days of administrative Detention for Prostitution , seek - Mr Cheng is blind.

"It was a tactic That locked up secretly and randomly on me for an even longer period of time, without interference from third parties. "

The jailing prompted a public outcry and substantial media coverage

hong kong anti-government protests, china, hong kong

Source of news: bbc.com