On Mar. 15, hundreds of protestors took to the streets of London to express their outrage against China’s potential “mega-embassy” in the UK, fearing Beijing would expand its long arm to target dissidents abroad.
A video by Radio Free Asia (RFA) Cantonese shows protestors holding up banners and pictures of mockery against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One such image is a picture of kids’ character Winnie the Pooh — often used as an insult to China’s Xi Jinping — with fangs, grasping the Union Jack flag in his hands.
“You really want this to happen?” read the plaques featuring the image.
Other pictures showed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer kissing up to “Pooh’s” feet, and the communist “hammer-and-sickle” symbol threatening to control the UK.
Those who flocked to protest were mainly rights groups from Hong Kong, as well as Tibetans, Uyghurs and other local residents. Together, they chanted words of defiance, requesting the UK government to reject the “mega-embassy” project.
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“No ‘mega-embassy’!” they shouted.
Police officers were deployed to disperse the crowds. No arrests were made and the rallies ended peacefully.
This was the second protest to happen in the last five weeks. The first erupted on Feb. 9, when around 4,000 people rallied outside the site of the embassy — the former Royal Mint Court — located near the Tower of London. Many came to the protests in masks, dressed in black as they waved their flags to send their message to London lawmakers.
“UK Government, don’t reward repression. Say no to China’s super embassy,” read one slogan.
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China’s ‘mega-embassy’
Once the site of production of British coins for almost two centuries, the area had been vacated by the Mint as they relocated to Llantrisant between 1967 and 1975. Since then, its ownership history has been intricate, involving multiple sales and claims of fraud and questionable transactions before Beijing’s purchase.
Beijing bought the site in 2018 for 255 million pounds ($327 million), formulating plans to transform the building into a major diplomatic facility ten times larger than any ordinary facility.
They cooperated with David Chipperfield Architects (DCA), which provided architects to plan out the project’s design.
One architect involved in the project shared details, which includes “a tunnel connecting two of the former Royal Mint buildings, basement rooms and accommodation for hundreds of staff,” RFA reported.
“It will be like a headquarter [for China] to catch the [Hong Kong] people in the UK to [send them] back to China,” an anonymous protester named only “Zero”, and member of “Hongkongers in Leeds,” said during the first protest.
The protests were sparked after Prime Minister Starmer pushed for increased engagement with Beijing after years of strained relations, particularly due to China’s crackdown on rights in Hong Kong. He became the first UK Prime Minister to meet with Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Brazil.
According to the Financial Times, British ministers, including the foreign secretary and home secretary, had supported the “mega-embassy” project, emphasizing the “importance of countries having functioning diplomatic premises in each other’s capitals.”
However, they also urged China to modify a design element and relinquish diplomatic accreditation for seven sites in London.
Other than dissidents, critics and other government officials had voiced their concerns over what China could do with a new “mega-embassy” in London.
Tom Tugendhat, Conservative Party lawmaker and former security minister, warned that China’s reach in London could not only endanger the city’s people, but also national security.
“This is about the future of our freedom, not just the site of a Chinese Embassy in London,” he told AFP during the first protest, Voice of America (VOA) wrote.
“I think it would be a threat to all of us because we would see an increase in economic espionage… and an increase in the silencing of opponents of the Chinese Communist Party [in the UK],” he added.
Fearing Beijing’s growing global influence, a committee from the U.S. House of Representatives also warned that China’s project highlights “significant security concerns” for London’s financial services industry.
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