Protesters in London rally against Beijing’s new embassy, citing espionage fears and transnational repression ahead of a key planning decision.
LONDON: Hundreds of people rallied in London on Saturday against Beijing’s controversial new “mega” embassy, days ahead of an expected decision on the plan.
Protesters, their faces mostly covered, chanted “No to Chinese embassy” and waved flags reading “Free Hong Kong. Revolution now”.
Others held placards with slogans such as “MI5 warned. Labour kneeled”, referring to the UK’s domestic intelligence agency and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ruling party.
China has for years sought to relocate its embassy from Marylebone to a sprawling historic site near the Tower of London.
The move has sparked fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups and critics of China’s ruling Communist Party.
Benedict Rogers, head of the human rights group Hong Kong Watch, said if approved, the site was “highly likely” to be used for espionage due to nearby sensitive underground communications cables.
He said China had already been “carrying out a campaign of transnational repression” and predicted that would “increase and intensify”.
A protester who gave his name only as Brandon said the plans raised a “lot of concerns”.
The 23-year-old bank employee, originally from Hong Kong, said many had moved to the UK “to avoid authoritarian rule in China”.
He said they now feared an embassy serving as an “operations base” for Beijing.
Another demonstrator called on Starmer to “step back and stop it because there is a high risk to the national security of the UK”.
The 60-year-old warehouse worker said the embassy would be a “spy centre not only to watch the UK but the whole of Europe”.
Speakers at the rally included Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party.
British MPs voiced major security concerns this week after The Daily Telegraph reported the site would house 208 secret rooms, including a “hidden chamber”.
The newspaper said it had obtained unredacted plans for the vast new building on the site of the former Royal Mint.
It showed Beijing reportedly plans to construct a single “concealed chamber” among “secret rooms” underneath the embassy, placed alongside underground communications cables.
