2022: Japan’s Uyghur community protests Beijing Olympics
If the government permits Beijing’s proposed diplomatic compound – whose blueprints indicated hundreds of ‘secret’ rooms, and would allow spies to access the City’s financial data – political migrants like me will no longer be safe, says human rights activist Rahima Mahmut
On Monday, the UK government will decide whether or not to approve the Chinese ‘super-embassy’ in London – a protracted issue that has united a diverse range of voices and groups in its opposition, from Labour MPs and cybersecurity experts to our intelligence and security allies, and even the White House.
There was widespread concern about Beijing’s plans even before revelations last week of a secret basement next to sensitive cables that carry data to and from the City of London. But the pushback has rightly focused on the role the embassy, at a derelict site near the Tower of London, will play in helping China to conduct espionage and economic warfare against Britain and her allies.
I welcome the recent cross-party debate in the House of Commons on the real dangers of transnational repression this embassy will bring to ethnic groups and communities opposing the Chinese Communist Party, such as Hong Kongers and the Uyghur community, of which I am a part.
When I came to Britain, I believed distance would bring safety. London was meant to be a place where speaking freely no longer carried consequences. Yet for Uyghurs living in the UK, the proposed super-embassy feels like a reminder that the shadow has not lifted; it has followed us. This is not a matter of paranoia, but experience.
Read the full article on The Independent.
