“Tibet Hill” comes to London?

By Mary Trewartha / March 30, 2021;

Photo: Free Tibet

Tibet Hill, Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court and Hong Kong Road could well be the names of streets and buildings around the new Chinese Embassy to be opened in Tower Hamlets, London, in the United Kingdom. The Tower Hamlets council has voted, after yeas of lobbying by activist groups, to consider renaming nearby streets and buildings to serve as a daily reminder of the human rights atrocities committed by China.

The motion, which was sparked by concerns about China’s crackdown on Hong Kong and its reported persecution of its Uyghur Muslim population in East Turkestan {Ch: Xinjiang], was put to the council by local councilwoman, Rabina Khan who was born in Bangladesh and is now a writer and community development activist. She spearheaded the campaign, supported by local Muslim, Uyghur and Tibetan activists and groups. The UK Tibetan community, Students for a Free Tibet and the British support group Free Tibet were all active in the campaign. The area is home to many Tibetans as well as the UK’s largest Muslim population. “In Tower Hamlets, we have a rich history of standing up for people,” said Khan, speaking to Radio Free Asia, adding that she wanted the streets to be renamed in solidarity with people “oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party.”

China bought the building, which is opposite the Tower of London, and former home of the Royal Mint, for £250 million (US$345 million) in 2018 and is now looking to turn it into its largest embassy in Europe.

At the time of the purchase, the Chinese ambassador said that it would “write a new chapter for a China-UK golden era”, and that the building would be “a new landmark in London”. Speaking to the Guardian, the Embassy said the new building would be a symbol of a “robust relationship” between the countries and added that people should “stop using human rights as an excuse to interfere in China’s internal affairs”.

In a letter to local residents, the Chinese Embassy said, ““The current Royal Mint Court Estate offers nothing to the local economy and areas behind have been used as fly-tipping sites sporadically. We want to bring new footfall and spending to the local area, with workers at the embassy visiting local businesses”.

Tower Hamlets Council has said that it welcomes China’s embassy relocation from the West End, but “we must continue to make clear where our own standards and principles apply […] We will not refrain from expressing the views of the council, on behalf of our community, or asserting our support for the freedom and diversity of our borough.”

Other considerations being discussed by the council include concerns about the potential for terrorism, protests and views from the Tower of London. They are seeking more information about how to protect and improve “heritage, archaeology, public realm, access and amenities”. Councillor Andrew Wood said, “We are guaranteed to have hopefully peaceful protests outside the embassy on a regular basis. We need to plan ahead for where protestors are likely to gather. My second concern is about terrorism […] We, together with the embassy, need to be thinking about security precautions.”