London — Tibetans, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers, Uyghurs, Chinese, Mongolians, Tower Hamlets residents and cross-party MPs gathered outside the Royal Mint Court in Tower Hill on Saturday, to protest against China's plan to build a mega embassy in Lodon, UK. They said this would increase opportunities for transnational repression of those who dare to stand up to the Chinese government.
Around 4000 Tibetans, Taiwanese, Hong Kongers, Uyghurs, Chinese, Mongolians from 22 Tibetan, Uyghur, Mongolian and Chinese organisations, Tower Hamlets residents and cross-party MPs gathered outside the Royal Mint Court in Tower Hill on February 8, 2025 to protest against the Chinese government's plans to build a Chinese mega embassy, which is set to become the largest in Europe. The protesters said that this embassy will become a surveliance hub for people, who dare to speak out against the Chinese government's human rights abuses and the freedom of people suffering under the CCP's leadership.
The organiser states, "The UK Government seems to think this proposed site is appropriate for what would effectively be a foreign authoritarian surveillance hub with increased capabilities to commit transnational repression against those that dare to stand up to them."
"They ignored calls from their own intelligence agencies, metropolitan police, local council and residents to end the planning of establishing an oppressive regime’s embassy in the heart of the city of London. They were adamant that protester numbers would be manageable and the road network of one of the busiest junctions in London would not be significantly affected," they added.
UK MPs presented the gathering were MP Blair McDougall, Iain Duncan Smith and Tom Tugendhat, MP Blair McDougal told the crowd: “We have to have red lines in our relations with Beijing. Currently Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, is in prison for exercising the rights that are guaranteed under the agreement between the UK and China. We should not be doing any favours for Beijing while they are in breach of past deals."
Representatives from the Hong Kong, Uyghur, Taiwanese and Tibetan communities also addressed the crowd, tying their opposition to the super embassy to the threats to their countries and peoples.
Namgyal, Youth Coordinator of Tibetan Community in Britain and President of Students for a Free Tibet London, representing Tibetans and addressed the gathering and he said, " Over one million Tibetan children have been forced to Chinese colonial boarding schools, where they are cut off their families, language and buddhist traditions, a systematic attempt to erase our people from within. Tibetan monasteries are under Siege, monks and nuns arrested, temples demolished, all in the name of new dam projects, money over people's lives. A new wave of mass surveilance makes Tibet one of the most restricted places on the earth."
He added by saying, "Now China wants to bring this oppression to London, this is so-called "super embassy" , it is not about diplomacy, it is an outpost of authorities control, it will used for surveillance, intimidation and transnational repression against Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Uyghurs and Chinese dissidents in exile. We ask the British government: will you stand with Tibetans, who have found refuge in this country? will you stand for religious freedom, human rights and democracy ? or will you allow the CCP to expand its oppression onto more British soil ? "
