Britain’s main opposition leader joined a protest Saturday against China’s planned new embassy in London, days before a deadline for the government to approve or block the project.
Just days ahead of a government deadline to either approve or halt the project, Britain’s principal opposition leader on Saturday took part in a protest against China’s proposed new embassy in London.
Conservative Party chief Kemi Badenoch called on the Labour government to block the plans, accusing the Chinese state of having “harassed and sanctioned” UK lawmakers and of “abusing British nationals with links to China.”
“We know we must confront China’s abuses. What concerns me is that the government currently in power appears afraid to do so,” Badenoch told hundreds of protesters gathered at the site, who repeatedly chanted “no China mega embassy.”
The demonstration was also addressed by politicians from several other opposition parties.
Following years of postponements and legal disputes, the government has set Tuesday as the deadline to decide whether to give the go-ahead for what would be Europe’s largest Chinese embassy, planned for the former Royal Mint site near Tower Bridge. Approval is widely seen as the most likely outcome.
Beijing has criticised the seven-year approval delay, accusing the UK of “constantly complicating and politicising” the issue.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that while safeguarding national security is non-negotiable, maintaining diplomatic engagement and cooperation with China remains necessary.
Granting approval for the embassy would clear the way for a long-ought visit by Starmer to China and for an expansion of the UK’s embassy in Beijing.
Critics argue that the proposed 20,000 square-metre (215,000 square-foot) complex, located close to London’s financial hub and near key data cables, could be used for espionage as well as to monitor and intimidate Chinese dissidents living abroad.
Britain’s intelligence and security services have issued a series of warnings about Chinese espionage activity. In November, the MI5 domestic intelligence agency issued an alert to lawmakers warning that Chinese agents were making “targeted and widespread” efforts to recruit and cultivate them using LinkedIn or cover companies.
However, U.K. security services are thought to have OK’d the embassy development.
Some security experts say the risks are manageable and that the embassy has the advantage of consolidating China’s current seven diplomatic premises in London onto one site.
Ciaran Martin, the former head of Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre – part of the GCHQ intelligence agency – said that no British government would override the security services if they said that the project was too risky.
“Unless we want to sever diplomatic relations with China, the location of their embassy becomes an issue of practicalities, security assessments and counterintelligence operations,” he wrote in The Times of London.
With inputs from agencies
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