Hong Kong democracy activist says he was 'stapled' by Chinese agents

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A prominent member of Hong Kong's Democratic Party said on Friday he was beaten and "stapled" by mainland agents in the Chinese-controlled city before being dumped on a beach in what activists said was the latest warning to the democracy movement.

He said he was even warned in a telephone call not to give a photo signed by Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi to the widow of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Howard Lam, a key pro-democracy activist in the former British colony, was confronted by men speaking Mandarin, spoken in Beijing but not widely in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong, outside a sports store, he told reporters.

Lam said the men took him away, interrogating him and stapling his skin 21 times for being "unpatriotic" in a nine-hour ordeal. He was knocked out and eventually found himself dumped on a beach in Hong Kong's remote Sai Kung district.

Hong Kong police and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of China's State Council were not immediately available for comment.

Democratic Party member Lee Cheuk-yan displays an autographed photo of football player Lionel Messi, outside a hospital in Hong Kong, China August 11, 2017.

The attack comes as hostility to Beijing has spiraled and the battle for full democracy has become a defining issue for the city of 7.3 million people.

Hong Kong became a "special administrative region" of China in 1997, since when it has been governed under a "one country, two systems" formula that guarantees a range of freedoms not enjoyed in China, including a direct vote for half of the 70-seat legislative assembly.