In 2018, the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom decided to move out of Portland Place in central London and choose a new location in the East End of London on the site of the Royal Mint, in the Borough of Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets Council passed a resolution on the evening of March 17 to consider renaming the area around the new embassy site “Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Yard, Hong Kong Road and Tibetan Hill” to reaffirm “support for the freedom and diversity of the borough”.
In May 2018, a ceremony was held in London to hand over the new premises of the Chinese Embassy in the UK. Speaking at the handover ceremony, then Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said the acquisition of the new premises by the embassy in the UK was of epochal importance and a “golden achievement” of the “golden age” of Sino-British relations. According to a previous report by The Times, the site covers 600,000 square feet and is valued at £750 million.
The Guardian reported on Friday that the council of Taal Hamlets, where the new embassy will be located, passed a resolution on Wednesday night. The resolution reads, “This council resolves that Taurehamlets Borough Council will investigate whether roads or new buildings in the vicinity of the proposed Chinese Embassy site can be appropriately renamed in solidarity with historically significant symbols or acts of place-naming with Chinese significance: for example Tiananmen Square, Tibetan Hill, Uighur Yard, Hong Kong Road and/or Xiaobo Road (in honor of Liu Xiaobo). “
According to the latest census, the Borough of Tower Hamlets has the highest percentage of Muslim population (38%) in the UK. The resolution also mentions that the Chinese Embassy in the UK has written to a number of schools in the area to seek potential partnership opportunities. The resolution calls on the agencies involved to determine the nature of the collaboration to ensure that it reflects the Borough’s “proud history of uniting with each other as one community and celebrating mutual differences. The resolution also welcomes Hong Kong residents to move to the UK on behalf of the Borough, and says it will investigate other actions that could be taken to show solidarity with Hong Kong people.
Rabina Khan, the UK Liberal Democrat councillor who proposed the amendment, said, “Tower Hamlets has a unique history of welcoming everyone and at Wednesday’s full council meeting, politicians unanimously agreed to the amended motion and we welcome the proposed relocation of the Chinese Embassy while we oppose the Chinese Communist Party‘s human rights abuses. ”
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