Concerns Rise Over China’s Planned London Mega-Empassy

Security concerns have intensified regarding China’s planned mega-embassy in London, as warnings emerge about the potential for the construction of undisclosed facilities. British officials have raised alarms over aspects of the blueprints for the Cultural Exchange Building at Royal Mint Court, which may include sealed rooms without oversight from UK authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has issued a two-week ultimatum for China to clarify the greyed-out and redacted sections of the embassy’s plans. Critics argue that the planning agreement already permits the construction of certain rooms without any UK inspection. Senior Tory member Kevin Hollinrake has characterized the request for clarification as “pointless,” highlighting that legal documents allow China to apply its own construction standards in areas that do not require verification.

Hollinrake stated, “Ministers have deliberately stuck their heads in the sand over the clear national security threat posed by this mega-embassy. First, they ignored secret plans for an underground facility. Now they’re effectively giving the Chinese Communist Party a green light to construct spy infrastructure or even sinister detention facilities.” He urged the government to reject the application, pointing out that other countries, such as Ireland and Australia, have taken similar stances against Chinese intelligence facilities.

Local councillor Peter Golds has echoed these concerns, questioning why hundreds of pages of planning reports did not mention any secret rooms. He emphasized that public access to such information is a legal requirement, even for sensitive buildings, and residents are demanding transparency.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the China Dissent Network, have expressed their apprehensions that Chinese embassies have been used to monitor, intimidate, and silence dissidents abroad. Luke de Pulford, director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, remarked, “Beijing’s approach to this application has been contemptuous from the beginning. They think they can stick two fingers up to the government’s conditions and keep unusually large areas of the embassy secret, exempted from inspection.”

The site in question spans 20,000 square meters, and if approved, it would become China’s largest embassy in Europe. A final decision on the planning application is anticipated by September 9, 2023, marking a critical moment in the ongoing dialogue about national security and foreign diplomatic activities in the UK.