{"id":243607,"date":"2025-02-21T07:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T07:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/chinese-embassy-plan-in-london-sets-off-opposition\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T07:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T07:50:09","slug":"chinese-embassy-plan-in-london-sets-off-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/chinese-embassy-plan-in-london-sets-off-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Embassy Plan in London Sets Off Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/19\/multimedia\/00uk-china-embassy-02-kzvm\/00uk-china-embassy-02-kzvm-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Chinese Embassy Plan in London Sets Off Opposition\" title=\"Chinese Embassy Plan in London Sets Off Opposition\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was the site of Britain\u2019s Royal Mint, where coins were struck from 1810 to 1975. It sits atop the ruins of a Cistercian abbey dating to the 14th century, as well as a burial ground from the Black Death. And from the 16th century to the early 18th century, it was a supply yard for the Royal Navy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Now the storied compound known as Royal Mint Court is on the brink of a new chapter as the home of the Chinese Embassy in London. If Britain\u2019s Labour government approves the project, as seems likely, China will move its embassy from its current quarters in Marylebone to an imposing, 5.5-acre complex across town, which would be the largest diplomatic outpost in Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Handing Beijing such a prime piece of real estate, next to the Tower of London and in the shadow of the skyscrapers of London\u2019s City, has set off a storm of opposition from neighborhood residents, China hawks in the British Parliament and Hong Kong democracy advocates who have resettled in Britain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some say China could use the embassy, with its proximity to strategic fiber-optic cables that snake under the financial district, to spy on dissidents and ordinary Britons. Others claim its location, on a busy road just off the Tower Bridge, would make it hard for crowds to gather to protest issues like Beijing\u2019s crackdown on Hong Kong or its persecution of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is not just a building; this is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s power in the U.K.,\u201d said Chloe Cheung, a representative of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a pro-democracy group, as she spoke to more than 1,000 protesters who rallied at the site this month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Cheung, who left Hong Kong in 2020, warned that the supersized embassy would be \u201cabout control, fear and silencing voices.\u201d She noted that the Hong Kong authorities had offered a reward for her arrest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The protesters, many of whom, like Ms. Cheung, are immigrants from Hong Kong, brandished banners and placards that read, \u201cCCP is Watching You. Stop the Mega Embassy!\u201d But afterward, as they politely tidied up the site, several acknowledged there had been a shift in the political winds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2022, the borough council of Tower Hamlets denied permission for the project. But China resubmitted the proposal after the Labour Party swept into power last July. China\u2019s top leader, Xi Jinping, raised the matter in a call with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Mr. Starmer later told him the government had \u201ccalled in\u201d the planning application, giving it the ultimate say on whether it gets a greenlight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A public inquiry on the proposal ended on Wednesday, and a decision by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is expected by the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Two of her fellow ministers \u2014 David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary \u2014 gave the plan provisional support last month. In a letter to the council, Mr. Lammy and Ms. Cooper noted that the Metropolitan Police had dropped an earlier objection that the site could not accommodate demonstrations without disrupting nearby roads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cGiven the importance of countries having functioning diplomatic premises in each other\u2019s capitals,\u201d they wrote, \u201cit is right that China is able to carry out its diplomatic work in the United Kingdom, as the United Kingdom does in China.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Chinese Embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment. But last month, a spokeswoman for China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, said, \u201cIt is the international obligation of host countries to provide support and facilitation for the building of diplomatic premises.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain\u2019s government has plenty of reasons to break the deadlock. The Chinese authorities have blocked Britain\u2019s plans to rebuild its embassy in Beijing while they await approval for theirs. Britain is looking to China as a source of foreign investment at a time when its economy is stagnating and its relationship with the United States is uncertain. The chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, recently visited Beijing, drumming up 600 million pounds ($756 million) of commitments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere\u2019s no question that British policy was very pro-China under David Cameron, then switched to being hostile toward China under subsequent governments, and now has switched back to being more accommodating,\u201d said Tony Travers, professor of politics at the London School of Economics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Cameron, a Conservative who was prime minister from 2010 to 2016, famously declared a \u201cgolden era\u201d of economic ties between Britain and China. He took Mr. Xi out for a celebratory pint at a 16th-century pub.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, also a Conservative, had banned technology from the Chinese communications giant Huawei from Britain\u2019s high-speed wireless network on national security grounds. He extended an offer to many Hong Kong residents to live and work in Britain; more than 150,000 have done so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Professor Travers noted that it was a quirk of the London planning process that big building projects face three layers of scrutiny: local councils, the mayor\u2019s office and the national government. \u201cIt touches micro planning issues at one end and ends up as a matter of high diplomacy on the other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Chinese officials lobbied members of the council, sending them French wine, tea and, in one case, a Chinese-English children\u2019s book, according to government records. (Some of the gifts were returned.) Critics in Parliament noted that China also orchestrated a letter-writing campaign that included submissions from brand-name companies like Bank of China and Air China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Tower Hamlets council is unusual in that it is not controlled by an established political party, but by an independent party, Aspire. Having voted to reject the embassy in 2022, some councilors complained that the government was brushing aside their concerns, including fears that the Chinese could tap into sensitive communications lines that run into the City of London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been pushed into a corner,\u201d said Peter Golds, a Conservative council member who took part in the protest. \u201cWe said we don\u2019t want it, repeatedly. And suddenly the government are overruling us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Critics said they were puzzled that the police dropped their concerns about protests outside the embassy. They also asked why the British government was taking such a solicitous approach toward Beijing after an incident in 2022 when a pro-democracy demonstrator was dragged on to the grounds of the Chinese Consulate in Manchester and beaten by staff members.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt is simply the wrong place for this embassy to be,\u201d said Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative who served as security minister and is one of China\u2019s most vocal critics in Parliament. \u201cBut it is also the wrong thing to have,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cWe already have too much state repression, too much influence, too much aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Government officials pointed out that Mr. Lammy and Ms. Cooper did not offer the project unqualified support. In their letter, they said approval should be contingent on making a design change to the front of the embassy, where the Chinese want to construct a viewing area for the Cistercian ruins.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Opening part of the complex to the public, they said, would raise safety concerns and they urged China to surround it with a \u201chard perimeter.\u201d A lawyer for the Chinese government told the public inquiry that China had no intention of altering the design \u2014 by a prominent British architect, David Chipperfield \u2014 to accommodate the ministers\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the inquiry and demonstration, there was a palpable sense that the embassy\u2019s opponents had probably lost their battle. Some said their biggest hope now was a change in government in Britain. But Mr. Starmer\u2019s Labour Party does not have to face the voters for more than four years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAn American government wouldn\u2019t permit it,\u201d Mr. Golds said. \u201cCan you imagine building a Chinese embassy right by Wall Street?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Claire Moses<!-- --> contributed reporting from London, and <!-- -->Keith Bradsher<!-- --> from Beijing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/20\/world\/europe\/china-embassy-britain.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was the site of Britain\u2019s Royal Mint, where coins were struck from 1810 to 1975. It sits atop the ruins of a Cistercian abbey dating to the 14th century, as well as a burial ground from the Black Death. And from the 16th century to the early 18th century, it was a supply yard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/19\/multimedia\/00uk-china-embassy-02-kzvm\/00uk-china-embassy-02-kzvm-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[182832,3394,10927,3096,164920,7196,171902,5118,736,842,189329,2584,38871],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243607"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243609,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243607\/revisions\/243609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}