A FIGHT in a Southampton street yesterday reportedly involving people from Hong Kong and China has sparked a hate-crime investigation.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said they received a report of a 'hate-related assault' in which a group of people were confronted and assaulted in Burgess Road at around 4.25pm, leaving two people with minor injuries.

According to the Southampton HongKongers group, some people from Hong Kong joined a protest to support political prisoners from the city being held by the Chinese government. But they were allegedly "attacked" by Chinese students from the University of Southampton, holding the Chinese flag.

A viral video showing the incident was posted to Twitter by @whyyoutouzhele and has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.

According to this tweet, the students filmed the incident and uploaded it to WeChat, an instant messaging service controlled by the Chinese government.

It also quoted a screenshot which is believed to be an email to students from the vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton, Professor Mark E. Smith, who said he would "like to reassure [them] that any incidents will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with [their] procedures".

He added that the university "strongly defends the right to freedom of expression".

The incident has sparked condemnation on social media.

Benedict Rogers is a British human rights activist who founded Hong Kong Watch - a non-governmental organisation established to monitor the conditions of human rights, freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong.

He tweeted: "This appalling #CCP [Chinese Communist Party] thuggery against #HongKongers in Southampton marking #612 anniversary is unacceptable and outrageous and cannot be tolerated."

The anniversary he referred to was 12 June, 2019, when the Hong Kong government's insistence to push ahead with a controversial bill seen to be an erosion of the city's independence sparked mass protests and police brutality.

A spokesperson from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: "We are currently conducting an investigation and carrying out enquiries to ascertain the exact circumstances of the incident.

"Anyone with information in relation to this incident is asked to call 101, quoting crime reference 44230231581."You can also submit information via our website: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us-forms/provide-more-information-to-be-added-to-a-crime-report/ Alternatively, you can contact independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111."

A University of Southampton spokesperson said: “We’re aware of the footage circulating on social media and are investigating.

“The university condemns violence of any kind and respects everyone’s right to free speech.

“As this matter has now been reported to the police, it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”