Britain ‘extremely concerned’ as UK consul working in Hong Kong suddenly disappears in China after telling girlfriend ‘pray for me’

BRIT officials are "extremely concerned" for a Hong Kong consul who suddenly disappeared in China after telling his girlfriend "pray for me".

Simon Cheng Man-kit has not been seen for 10 days after he failed to return from a one-day work trip to mainland China on August 8.

3 The are fears UK consul Simon Cheng Man-Kit was detained by Chinese police after crossing to the mainland for a work trip Credit: Facebook

3 Simon Cheng's girlfriend said he texted her saying 'pray for me' as he was about to cross the border Credit: Facebook

Cheng, a 28-year-old trade and investment officer in the Scottish Development International department, had been attending a business event in Shenzhen via a joint checkpoint.

On the day of his departure he told his girlfriend he was on a high-speed rail train, “ready to pass through the boarder [sic],” HK01 reports.

“Pray for me,” Cheng told her in a message.

His girlfriend told the site he'd planned to arrive back on the same day on the Express Rail Link, but had been held under administrative detention for unknown reasons.

The police told HK01 that there'd been no arrests, but he'd been listed as a “missing person”.

A spokesperson for the UK’s FCO said: “We are extremely concerned by reports that a member of our team has been detained returning to Hong Kong from Shenzhen.

"We are providing support to his family and seeking further information from authorities in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong."

The Scottish government said it was in contact with the Foreign Office about the case.

Cheng was a Hong Kong permanent resident, and there's no indication he was travelling under a British diplomatic passport when he disappeared.

The seizure of consular staff of any status or rank is highly unusual.

Despite Beijing's declaration of a "golden era" in Sino-British ties, relations have grown tense in recent months amid pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, a British colony for 156 years before its handover to Chinese rule in 1997.

The region has been in the grip of protests since June, sparked by highly controversial legislation.

On Sunday, 1.7million umbrella-carrying demonstrators hit the streets in continued pro-democracy protests.

Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had previously tweeted that Britain's "support for Hong Kong and its freedoms is unwavering".

A China spokesman had responded angrily by saying they were "extremely dissatisfied" by the way the UK had "continuously gesticulated" about the region.

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If passed, the controversial law would give local authorities the right to detain and extradite people who are wanted in countries or territories Hong Kong does not have agreements with - which includes mainland China and Taiwan.

The former British colony in south eastern China, has long enjoyed a special status under the principal "one country, two systems".

The Basic Law dictates it will retain its common law and capitalist system for 50 years after the handover in 1997 - but protesters fear this is being undermined by increasing influence from the mainland.

3 The British Embassy in Hong Kong. Cheng was meant to return to work on August 9 after a day trip to mainland China

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