It was the site of British royal mint, where the pieces were struck from 1810 to 1975. And from the 16th century to the early 18th century, it was a court of supply for the Royal Navy.
Now, the legendary compound known as Royal Mint Court is on the verge of a new chapter as the home of the Chinese Embassy in London. If the British Labor Government approves the project, as seems likely, China will move its embassy from its current Marylebone districts to an imposing 5.5 acres complex across the city, which would be the largest diplomatic outpost of ‘Europe.
Giving Beijing a piece of real estate so essential, next to the Tower of London and in the shade of the skyscrapers of the city of London, sparked a storm of opposition from residents of the neighborhood, of the Hawks of China at British Parliament and defenders of Hong Kong democracy who have resettled in Great Britain.
Some say that China could use the embassy, with its proximity to strategic fiber optic cables that wind in the financial district, to spy on ordinary dissidents and British. Others say that its location, on a very busy road right next to the Tower Bridge, would make it difficult to gather to protest against problems such as Beijing’s repression against Hong Kong or its persecution of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang .
“It is not only a building; This is an extension of the power of the Chinese Communist Party in the United Kingdom, “said Chloe Cheung, a representative of the Hong Kong Foundation Committee, a pro-democracy group because it spoke more of 1,000 demonstrators who gathered on the site this month.
Ms. Cheung, who left Hong Kong in 2020, warned that the oversized ambassado would concern “the control, fear and silence of votes”. She noted that the Hong Kong authorities had offered a reward for her arrest.
The demonstrators, many of whom, like Ms. Cheung, are Hong Kong immigrants, brandished the banners and the signs that read: “The CCP is watching you. Stop the mega embassy! But thereafter, as they politely tidy the site, several recognized that there had been a change in political winds.
In 2022, the Tower Hamlet borough council denied authorization from the project. But China submitted the proposal of the proposal after the Labor Party swept away power last July. The senior Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, raised the case during an appeal with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Mr. Starmer later told him that the government had “called” the planning request, giving it the Ultimate say if he obtained a green light.
A public inquiry on the proposal ended on Wednesday, and a decision by the Housing Secretary Angela Rayner is expected by the summer.
Two of his colleagues ministers – David Lammy, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Yvette Cooper, the interior secretary – provided provisional support to the regime last month. In a letter to the Council, Mr. Lammy and Ms Cooper noted that the metropolitan police had abandoned a previous objection according to which the site could not host demonstrations without disturbing neighboring roads.
“Given the importance of countries with functional diplomatic premises in each other’s capitals,” they wrote, “it is just that China is able to carry out its diplomatic work in the United Kingdom, as the United Kingdom does in China. “
The Chinese embassy in London did not respond to a request for comments. But last month, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, said: “It is the international obligation of the host countries to provide support and facilitate the construction of diplomatic premises.”
The British government has many reasons to break the dead end. The Chinese authorities have blocked the plans of Great Britain to rebuild its embassy in Beijing as they await the approval of theirs. Great Britain considers China as a source of foreign investment at a time when its economy stagnates and its relations with the United States are uncertain. The Chancellor of the chessboard, Rachel Reeves, recently visited Beijing, which increased by 600 million pounds ($ 756 million) of commitments.
“There is no doubt that British policy was very pro-china under David Cameron, then went to be hostile to China under subsequent governments, and has now returned to be more accommodating,” said Tony Travers, professor of Politics at the London School of Economy.
Cameron, a curator who was a Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016, said an “golden era” of economic ties between Great Britain and China. He took Mr. XI for a party pint in a 16th century pub.
By 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, also conservative, had banned the technology of the Chinese giant of Huawei communications from the British -high -speed wireless network for national security reasons. He has extended an offer to many Hong Kong residents to live and work in Great Britain; More than 150,000 have done so.
Professor Travers noted that it was a quirk of the London planning process that major construction projects are faced with three control strata: local councils, the mayor’s office and the national government. “He affects micro-platform problems at one end and finds himself as a question of diplomacy raised to the other,” he said.
Chinese officials have put pressure on the members of the council, sending them French wine, tea and, in one case, a book for Chinese-English children, according to the government archives. (Some gifts have been returned.) Critics of the Parliament noted that China also orchestrated a writing campaign that included submissions of brand companies like Bank of China and Air China.
Tower Hamlet’s advice is unusual in that it is not controlled by an established political party, but by an independent party, aspires. Having voted to reject the embassy in 2022, some advisers complained that the government won their concerns, including fears that the Chinese can exploit sensitive communication lines that come up against the city of London.
“We were pushed in a corner,” said Peter Golds, a member of the Conservative Council who participated in the demonstration. “We said we don’t want it, on several occasions. And suddenly, the government replaces us. »»
Critics said they were perplexed that the police had abandoned their concerns about demonstrations outside the embassy. They also asked why the British government adopted such a brutal approach to Beijing after an incident in 2022 when a pro-democracy demonstrator was trained on the Chinese consulate field in Manchester and beaten by staff members.
“It is simply the bad place for this embassy,” said Tom Togendhat, a curator who was Minister of Security and is one of China’s most vocal criticism in Parliament. “But it is also the bad thing to have,” he said, adding: “We already have too much repression of the state, too much influence, too much assault.”
Government representatives stressed that Mr. Lammy and Ms. Cooper had not offered the unreserved support project. In their letter, they declared that approval should be subject to the modification of the design at the front of the embassy, where the Chinese want to build an observation area for the Cistercian ruins.
The opening of part of the complex to the public, she said, would cause security problems and urged China to surround it with a “hard perimeter”. A lawyer for the Chinese government told the public inquiry that China had no intention of modifying the conception – by an eminent British architect, David Chipperfield – to respond to the concerns of ministers.
During the investigation and the demonstration, there was a palpable feeling that the Embassy’s opponents had probably lost their battle. Some said their greatest hope was now a change in government in Great Britain. But Mr. Starmer’s Labor Party does not have to face the voters for over four years.
“An American government would not allow it,” said Golds. “Can you imagine building a Chinese embassy right next to Wall Street?”
Claire Moses contributed London’s reports, and Keith Bradsher from Beijing.
