Hong Kong's justice secretary was swarmed and allegedly shoved to the ground in London by a mob of angry pro-democracy protesters shouting "murderer" and "shameful".
Met Police have launched an investigation into an alleged assault on Teresa Cheng, who has been plagued by scandal at home, but so far there have been not been any arrests following Thursday's incident.
Footage shows Ms Cheng, 61, falling to the floor, where she clutches her wrist, as she tries to make her way through the mob of activists - some of them masked - and photographers.
Women are heard screaming as the justice secretary, who attended universities in the UK, lands on the ground and is quickly pulled back onto her feet and escorted away while she is heckled in Holborn, central London.
Were you there? Did you witness the incident? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk.
The incident happened after a week of extreme violence in the streets of Hong Kong, where police shot a protester and activists set a government supporter on fire when he confronted them.
Ms Cheng was targeted by demonstrators outside the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in Bloomsbury Square where she was giving a speech about the former British colony as a dispute resolution and deal-making hub.
Demonstrators - many of them from Hong Kong and shouting in Cantonese - shone torches in Ms Cheng's face, possibly to imitate a practice used by the territory's police to blind protesters, the Hong Kong Free Press reported.
She was mobbed as she made her way to the venue and the speech was cancelled after she was allegedly knocked to the floor, the report added.
A police spokesperson said: "A woman was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service suffering an injury to her arm.
"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.
"There has been no arrest at this stage."
In a statement, Ms Cheng condemned the activists, saying in a statement released through the government: “The Secretary for Justice castigates the violent mob in London causing her serious bodily harm on her way to an event venue.
"The Secretary immediately made a report to the London Police and requested the Police to take the case seriously and put the culprits to justice.
“The Secretary denounces all forms of violence and radicalism depriving others’ legitimate rights in the pretext of pursuing their political ideals, which would never be in the interest of Hong Kong and any civilised society.”
Ms Lam also hit out at the demonstrators in London.
A government statement said: “Pointing out that the attack was barbaric and violated the principles of a civilised society, Mrs Lam said the act should be strongly condemned. She expressed hope that the local police will follow up on the case thoroughly to bring the offenders to justice."
China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, claimed Ms Cheng was "besieged and attacked by dozens of anti-China and pro-independence activists".
He added: "She was pushed to the ground and sustained hand injury. We express strong indignation and unequivocally condemn the activists. We urge the British police to carry out a thorough investigation into this incident, bring the offenders to justice and strengthen security protection on Chinese personnel and institutions in the UK."
Ms Cheng is a lawyer who was appointed to the role of justice secretary in January 2018 by embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
In January of this year, she survived a no-confidence vote that was tabled while she was under fire after the justice department dropped an investigation into allegations of corruption against former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying.
She chairs the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.
She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from King's College London and later a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London before being called to the bar in England and Hong Kong.
Ms Cheng is a Fellow of King's College London.
The latest violence in Hong Kong, where protests are in their 24th week, came after student Chow Tsz-lok, 22, died in hospital last week following a fall as protesters were being dispersed by police.
Hong Kong's police force has denied involvement in his death.
Amid the escalation in violence in Hong Kong, the University of Edinburgh has recalled 21 students on exchange programmes.
Anti-government protests have been raging in Hong Kong for months, and students and other protesters have taken over major campuses, building barricades and stockpiling petrol bombs and other weapons.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong has suspended classes for the rest of the year, and others have asked students to switch to online learning.
