Feb. 09, 2025, RFA
LONDON - Waving flags and carrying placards, protesters representing Tibetan, Uyghur, Chinese and Hong Kong rights groups rallied on Saturday against China’s proposed ‘mega-embassy’ in London, voicing fears that Beijing would use the building to harass and monitor dissidents living abroad.
Organizers said around 4,000 people joined the protest at the proposed site of the embassy at the historic former Royal Mint Court – near the Tower of London – just days ahead of a crucial inquiry session to start on Tuesday. Police did not respond to requests for a crowd size estimate.
The Chinese government purchased the historic building in 2018 with plans to build what would become Beijing’s largest diplomatic facility globally. Plans show that it is expected to be 10 times the size of a regular embassy and house cultural exchange centers and 225 apartment units.
Nearly 30 different rights groups came together for the protest, organizers said. Many were masked and dressed in black. They waved flags and carried placards that said, “UK Government, don’t reward repression. Say no to China’s super embassy,” “Stop Chinese secret policing in the UK” and other slogans.
Police could be heard shouting for order as large crowds spilled out across the intersection by the Mint, and several protestors wrestled with and shouted at a line of police officers. About halfway through the protest, officers could be seen dragging a woman to a police van, prompting protestors to block the van and shout for her release.
Two people were arrested on suspicion of breaching Section 14 conditions, which require that protesters stay within a designated area and later released, Tower Hamlets Police said.
No counter-protests from Chinese nationalists were seen.
Twice rejected
The local Tower Hamlets Council has twice rejected the planning application, putting the embassy plan on hold.
In October, British Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State Angela Rayner announced that she would take over the decision-making of the embassy’s fate.
A public inquiry will be held in front of a planning inspector from Feb. 11-18, after which Raynor will decide whether or not permission should be granted, the council said in a statement.
Previously, the Metropolitan Police had objected to Beijing’s plans to redevelop the former Royal Mint Court site into the Chinese Embassy, citing a lack of space to safely accommodate protestors. However, in January 2025, they withdrew their objection, citing a Beijing-sponsored report that claims the site surrounding the proposed embassy can safely fit up to 4,500 people.
“Chinese embassies are like a watchdog and serve as a base to control so-called minorities like Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hong Kongers and also to human rights defenders and other Chinese dissidents,” said Tsering Passang, founder and chair of the U.K.-based Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities, or GATPM.
“To have our voices and concerns heard, we have gathered here ahead of the public inquiry session,” Passang said. “We are also demonstrating that the site is inappropriate for an embassy, as there is not enough space for safe demonstrations at the site.”
‘Spy base’
At Saturday’s protest, several British politicians, including former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, Labour parliamentarian Blair McDougall, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, spoke out in solidarity with the protestors, saying it would be a “grave mistake” if permission was granted to build the embassy.
They warned that British intelligence services have indicated the Chinese Embassy would become a massive “spy base,” threatening not only exile communities of Hong Kongers, Tibetans and Uyghurs, but also local residents and British national security.
They criticized the U.K. government for their apparent support for the project and disregarding public opinion.
“Tower Hamlet came out this morning and said they stand by their original objection. That means that the local council didn’t approve it, no local residents wanted it, and a large number of politicians in Westminster do not want it either,” Smith told RFA.
“So the government is now using its powers to bully all the organizations to get the decision that they want,” he said.
Smith went on to say that the U.K. government’s apparent support for the embassy approval was “promised” by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Chinese President Xi Jinping at their meeting on Nov 18, 2024, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I think it’s an act of self-harm and a betrayal of the British people to have it here,” he said.
‘We will continue our protest’
Rahima Mahmut, U.K. project director of the World Uyghur Congress, said it was perhaps the largest protest in London against the Chinese regime in recent history.
Due to the large turnout, the protest spilled out across most of the junction between Tower Bridge Road and Tower Hill. This prompted the police to close the intersection, forcing vehicles to turn back and find alternative routes and temporarily paralyzing traffic.
A local resident named Nas, who didn’t want his full name used for security reasons, said the blockage of traffic shows why the site is unsuitable.
He also noted that the area has one of Britain’s largest Muslim communities, raising fears among the local community that the Chinese government would impose its values on the area and impact local mosques, if the plan is approved.
“We are not here just for today, we will continue our protest,” Passang said. “With the collaboration of local residents we are showing a clear message to the U.K. government and also letting the Chinese government know that oppression of religious freedom, freedom of speech and human rights will not be tolerated.”
Additional reporting by Alim Seytoff for RFA Uyghur, Passang Dhonden for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Kalden Lodoe and Malcolm Foster.
Updated with release of protesters.
