270 { China’s Quest
British personnel escaped via other exits, but the largest group, led by the
chargé d’affaires Hopson, were assaulted and humiliated by the mob. Several
female members of the group had their clothes torn off and were sexually
molested. The British group finally made it out of the compound onto an
adjacent street, at which point the PLA intervened, put the group under their
protection, and arranged their safe exit from the scene. The mission building
was gutted by fire, and several people, including the chargé, were seriously
injured.
Several days later, Hopson was working in one of the untorched buildings
in the compound when another group of Red Guards returned to call Britain
to account for the recent street battle. The leader of the group demanded that
Hopson bow his head and confess his “crimes.” Hopson refused, whereupon
the Red Guard grabbed his hair and tried to jerk his head down. The whole
incident was watched by a nearby Japanese journalist, who reported it to the
world.^14 Beijing expelled a number of Japanese reporters. Because of their his-
toric familiarity with China and knowledge of Chinese, they were especially
effective in reporting on the events of the Cultural Revolution.
Following the egregious violation of British diplomatic immunity in
Beijing, London retaliated by imposing modest travel restrictions on Chinese
diplomats in London and subjecting their movements to police surveillance.
On August 29, personnel from the Chinese embassy, located on Portland
Place in London, suddenly emerged from the building armed with baseball
bats, axes, steel bars, and broom handles. One of them carried a camera and
filmed the action. Confrontation with London police ensued, with three po-
liceman, three Chinese, and one photographer being hospitalized as a result.
The whole fight, dubbed the Battle of Portland Place by the British media, was
over in about five minutes. The Chinese cameraman was captured by other
photographers assiduously taking photos during the melee. Apparently, it
was important to have photographic evidence of the militant spirit of China’s
diplomatic warriors to show to higher-ups back in Beijing.
Following the “Battle of Portland Place,” the MFA called in the British chargé
to protest the “barbarous atrocities” of London police who “clubs in hand, fla-
grantly and brutally beat up” Chinese diplomatic personnel. According to the
MFA, the episode began when a London policeman wore a Mao button up-
side down as a deliberate insult to Chairman Mao. A Chinese diplomat had
approached the policeman to protest and warn him, whereupon, according
to the Chinese version, “scores of truncheon-wielding police fell upon and
brutally assaulted him.”^15 Chinese retaliation for the events on Portland Place
came in Shanghai when the Revolutionary Committee of that city took over
the British consulate. Located on the north end of the Shanghai waterfront
adjacent to Suzhou Creek, the British consulate building was a quintessential
symbol of Britain’s role in China’s “century of national humiliation.” Across
the street from the consulate building had once stood, at least according to