Hong Kong Watch condemns decision to grant PRC mega-embassy

Hong Kong Watch is deeply disappointed by the UK government’s decision to grant planning permission for the construction of a new embassy building for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the old Royal Mint site in Tower Hamlets, London.

According to blueprints submitted as part of the planning process, the new embassy will be 700,000 square feet, making it the PRC’s largest embassy in Europe. The site sits on a historically and strategically important location close to the City of London, raising concerns about espionage and the integrity of fibre-optic cables carrying highly sensitive data into the city.

Diaspora groups and dissidents, including pro-democracy Hong Kong activists exiled in the UK, have expressed concerns about the embassy building serving as a hub for transnational repression, including through nine large-scale protests in London since February 2025. Consular staff at PRC and Hong Kong embassies and representative offices have been linked to espionage and surveillance of activists, acts of violence against pro-democracy protestors, campaigns of harassment and intimidation against exiled pro-democracy campaigners, and the extra-legal forced extradition of Chinese individuals to the PRC to face criminal charges.

Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chair of Trustees of Hong Kong Watch, commented:

“The current government did not initiate the sale of the site – we should be clear that both Conservative and Labour administrations have sadly proved blind to the obvious national security risks posed by this development.

Nevertheless, this decision is tremendously disappointing for all those subject to persecution and repression by the CCP, from Hong Kong pro-democracy activists to Uyghurs and Tibetans seeking to live peacefully in the UK. Granting permission to this development massively compromises our national security – and for what in return? I fear we will come to deeply regret this decision in the years to come, once its true costs become clear.”

香港監察譴責英政府批准中國超級大使館計劃 無視國家安全及跨國鎮壓威脅

就英國政府決定批准中國選址倫敦塔村區舊皇家鑄幣廠興建新大使館的規劃許可申請，香港監察表示非常失望。

根據中方提交的規劃圖則，新大使館佔地70萬平方呎，將成為歐洲最大的中國大使館。選址毗鄰倫敦金融城，所處位置具重要歷史及策略意義，引起外界對間諜活動和傳輸高度敏感資料光纖電纜完整性的憂慮。

離散團體和異見人士，當中包括流亡英國的香港社運人士，紛紛表示擔憂大使館將成為跨國鎮壓中心，包括透過2025年2月起在倫敦舉行九場大型示威。中國使領館和香港代表處的外交人員曾牽涉針對社運人士的間諜活動和監視行為、針對民主示威者的暴力行為、針對流亡民主運動人士的騷擾和恐嚇行動，以及法外強行引渡中國籍人士到中國面臨刑事指控。

香港監察共同創辦人兼信託董事會主席羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）表示：

「批准出售皇家鑄幣廠舊址的不是現屆政府——我們要清楚知道，很遺憾，保守黨政府和工黨政府都對大使館計劃帶來的明顯國家安全風險視而不見。

對所有飽受中共迫害和打壓的人來說，從香港社運人士到尋求在英國和平生活的維吾爾人和藏人，這項決定無疑令人失望透頂。批准大使館計劃嚴重損害英國國家安全，但換來甚麼？我擔心，未來數年一旦這項決定的真正代價清晰浮現，我們會懊悔不已。」

Photo: Steve Cadman from London, U.K., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons