Chinese Embassy Plan in London Sets Off Opposition
It was the site of Britain's Royal Mint, where coins were struck from 1810 to 1975. It sits atop the ruins of a Cistercian abbey dating to the 14th century, as well as a burial ground from the Black Death. And from the 16th century to the early 18th century, it was a supply yard for the Royal Navy.
Now the storied compound known as Royal Mint Court is on the brink of a new chapter as the home of the Chinese Embassy in London. If Britain's Labour government approves the project, as seems likely, China will move its embassy from its current quarters in Marylebone to an imposing, 5.5-acre complex across town, which would be the largest diplomatic outpost in Europe.
Handing Beijing such a prime piece of real estate, next to the Tower of London and in the shadow of the skyscrapers of London's City, has set off a storm of opposition from neighborhood residents, China hawks in the British Parliament and Hong Kong democracy advocates who have resettled in Britain.
Some say China could use the embassy, with its proximity to strategic fiber-optic cables that snake under the financial district, to spy on dissidents and ordinary Britons. Others claim its location, on a busy road just off the Tower Bridge, would make it hard for crowds to gather to protest issues like Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong or its persecution of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
'This is not just a building; this is an extension of the Chinese Communist Party's power in the U.K.,' said Chloe Cheung, a representative of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a pro-democracy group, as she spoke to more than 1,000 protesters who rallied at the site this month. Protesters this month outside Royal Mint Court, site of the proposed Chinese Embassy in London. Credit... Carlos Jasso/Reuters
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China expresses deep concern about Israel's attacks on Iran, urges de-escalation
BEIJING (Reuters) -China was deeply concerned about the Israeli attacks on Iran and urged de-escalation for regional peace and stability, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday. "China opposes any infringement upon Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and opposes any escalation of tensions and expansion of conflicts. A sudden rise in regional tensions is not in the interests of any party," Spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing. Lin also said China was ready to play a constructive role in easing the situation. Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran promised a harsh response with Israel saying it was working to intercept about 100 drones launched towards its territory. Beijing and Tehran share friendly ties, supported by China's search for energy security through Iran's oil shipments and a wider strategy of increasing influence across the Middle East to rival the United States. Earlier on Friday, the Chinese embassies in Israel and Iran issued advisories to citizens warning of the "complex and severe" security situation in the two countries. The embassy in Tel Aviv also warned those in Israel to prepare for possible missile, rocket and drone attacks.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
The only trade certainty is uncertainty
The latest U.S. trade deal with China may let the economy take a brief breather, but it's far from being able to relax. Why it matters: Months of real-time uncertainty are being replaced with longer-term uncertainty, with trade policy living on three-to-six-month cycles that make business planning a nightmare. The big picture: Tariffs are still in place, prices are still (at least anecdotally) rising, and deal deadlines with dozens of countries still loom over the summer. Stocks may have priced in the TACO ("Trump Always Chickens Out") trade, but that doesn't help companies planning their operations. So-called hard economic data — inflation, jobs — remains strong. But the anecdotes, the real-world commentary from businesses, are getting more negative by the month. "We have members now that the tariff alone will cause them to go bankrupt. The margins are so tight on their product that they can't pass the price on, and they get caught," Ross Perot Jr., the new chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Axios this week. Indexes that measure trade policy uncertainty are almost literally off the charts, and surging again after a brief respite last month. Catch up quick: The U.S. and China agreed to a trade deal in Geneva in mid-May, which both sides almost immediately ignored. This week's London deal is supposed to cement actually implementing the May agreement, including faster Chinese approvals of rare earths exports and relaxed U.S. export controls on software and jet parts. Yes, but: The London deal was barely 12 hours old when the Wall Street Journal reported the Chinese would only approve the rare earths export licenses for six months at a time. For the makers of the hundreds of products with components that require rare earths, six months of certainty is an improvement — but also the start of an expensive race to stockpile parts before it all turns over again. Zoom in: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved the goalposts even further Wednesday, when he told a House panel it was " highly likely" the current pause on reciprocal tariffs would be extended for countries in talks. Hours later, President Trump told reporters he could extend the deadline if he wanted, but didn't think it was necessary, because the U.S. was getting ready to send out " take it or leave it" offers instead. What looked like a firm, universal July 8 deadline for dozens of countries now becomes a fungible, case-by-case affair. The intrigue: There's also the ongoing question of whether those tariffs are even legal or not. A federal court said no in late May, but an appellate court has stayed that ruling until at least the end of July. Administration officials say they have a Plan B if the courts ultimately strike down the current regime, raising the prospect of the global economy having to start over in the fall with a whole new program. By the numbers: The lingering uncertainty isn't really showing up in stocks, which remain near all-time highs, but the stress is unmistakable elsewhere. The U.S. Dollar Index, a basket of the dollar against other major currencies, has moved relentlessly lower even as stocks rallied. It remains the strongest example yet of the " sell America" trade that began in earnest in April, as investors seek safer havens elsewhere. "The US dollar remains a key barometer of trade sentiment, and its failure to extend higher in the wake of the so-called deal with China was telling. Now, it's under increased selling pressure once more, with the dollar index looking poised to hit a fresh 3-year low," Convera's lead currency and macro strategist George Vessey wrote Thursday morning. The bottom line: It's impossible to plan ahead with confidence in an economy like this.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
9 Candidates, 5 Boroughs, 8 Million Handshakes
As a photographer for The Times, I've traveled the country covering political campaigns, national and local. I had lived in New York for 14 years, and then during the pandemic, like so many, I left. Last month, I returned to the city to follow nine Democratic mayoral candidates on their campaign trails, ahead of the June 24 primary. The post-pandemic city that I returned to seemed gritty and alive, but clouded with a heightened sense of danger. Cops were stationed in subways across the boroughs. On a single day, I saw three street fights break out. The city felt neglected, somehow, as though it were a backyard that had been allowed to grow wild for a little too long. On a Tuesday after a press conference outside City Hall, I observed a colony of rats scurrying around the grounds. An apt, but perhaps too-on-the-nose metaphor for the state of politics in the city. For eight days, from early morning to late evening, I shadowed the candidates as they campaigned throughout the city's five boroughs. My step counter got a good workout as I clocked in an average of nine miles each day. Despite New York's image as a center of wealth and power, the battle for its leadership felt intensely local, as though it were a small-town race. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
