A UK Foreign Office official described the incident as ‘completely unacceptable’. The Chinese government says journalist Lawrence did not show his newspaper ID on his own.
The footage, which has been widely circulated on social media, shows several police officers grabbing Lawrence and pinning him to the ground. Police officers beat, kicked and handcuffed him, the BBC reported.
The BBC described the treatment of a journalist as ‘extremely disturbing’.
On the other hand, in response to an urgent question in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, David Routley, said that the Chinese ambassador is being summoned to give a clear message against such unacceptable and wrongful arrests and a full and thorough explanation is demanded.