(TibetanReview.net, Dec11’24) –While the final decision rests with the UK government, the Tower Hamlets Council in the London borough has for the second time unanimously voted against China’s plans for a super embassy in its locality, said the Tibet campaign group Free Tibet on its freetibet.org website Dec 10.
The group said that after hearing from residents and the Metropolitan Police, and taking letters of objection into consideration, the councillors at their Strategic Development Committee meeting rejected the plan.
China’s plan is to convert the historic Royal Mint Court, a collection of historic listed buildings and offices, into its new UK embassy, with other buildings converted into cultural spaces and accommodation for embassy staff and their families.
At 700,000 square feet, it would be China’s largest embassy in Europe.
The Chinese proposal was earlier voted down by Tower Hamlets Council in Dec 2022, with 51 letters of objection from residents. This time, the Council received 273 letters of objection, including a joint communication from Free Tibet and the Tibet Community in Britain, the group said.
Those opposed to the Chinese proposal held a held a vigil outside the venue where the Strategic Development Committee meeting on Dec 9 evening.
The objection raised by the local residents and others were stated to include impact on traffic, tourism, and public security as a result of daily operations and protests.
Councillor Peter Golds has referred to recent revelations that the Chinese government had directly tried to influence the process, which explained the 264 letters that Tower Hamlets council received in support of the proposal, despite little support for it among the residents.
Free Tibet noted that though Tower Hamlets Council had again rejected China’s application, the final decision will sit with the UK government, which called in the application in October.
An inquiry, lasting eight days, will commence on Feb 11, 2025 and a final decision is expected before May 2025, the group said.
UK’s Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been working to improve relations with China following his party’s recent electoral victory. The group noted that at a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last month, Starmer said to Xi “You raised the Chinese Embassy building in London when we spoke on the telephone, and we have since taken action by calling in that application.”