London Protest unites China’s persecuted communities, urging the UK Foreign Secretary to take a more proactive stance on the Chinese government’s human rights.
London, 11th December 2023
By Tsering Passang, Founder and Chair, Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
Chinese, Hong Kong, Southern Mongolian, Tibetan and Uyghur communities and human rights supporters gathered in central London to mark the Human Rights Day on Sunday 10 December. Protesters, from as far as North Somerset, have come to London to join the protest to show their support and solidarity with China’s persecuted communities on the Human Rights Day. Labour rights activists have also joined the annual protest.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was the first gathering point where the protesters and speakers urged the new Secretary of State Lord David Cameron to take a more proactive stance on the Chinese government’s human rights. Activist and protest co-organisers addressed the opening rally outside the British Foreign Office, followed by support and solidarity speech from Chinese student leader from mainland China, representing the China Deviants, who also called for freedom, human rights and democracy in China and in occupied territories, including Tibet, East Turkistan, Southern Mongolia and Hong Kong.
Despite the poor British wintry weather and rain, 100 participants marched from the UK Foreign Office to the Chinese Embassy where a loud rally was held. Tenzin Kunga, Chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain and Advocacy Officer of Free Tibet, spoke on the significance of holding the human rights protest in front of the Chinese Embassy and introduced speakers, including from the Voice of Southern Mongolia. Well known Chinese dissidents and vocal critics of China’s Communist government, including Dr Shao Jiang and Ma Jian addressed the rally.
This year’s protest coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and participants reminded China and international governments that the human rights of those living under Chinese Communist Party rule must be protected.
Marchers carried placards and banners raising the human rights violations that Hongkongers, Tibetans and Uyghurs face under CCP rule, including mass detentions, torture, religious repression, violence from police and security forces and systematic eradication of their respective cultures, languages and way of life.
Tenzin Kunga, Advocacy Officer for Free Tibet and Chair of the Tibetan Community in Britain, said: “It is a travesty of justice that 75 years on from the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Tibetans inside occupied Tibet continue to be denied rights by the Chinese communist regime. More than 155 Tibetans have resorted to self-immolation since 2009 to protest China’s repressive policies in the absence of any space for expressing dissent. Not content with eliminating Tibetan language, identity and religion, the Chinese Communist Party is now erasing even the name “Tibet” and aggressively replacing it with “Xizang.” Tibetans are even more determined to continue our resistance.”
Rahima Mahmut, Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide and UK Director for World Uyghur Congress, said: ”For too long, the Chinese government has perpetrated severe human rights violations and genocide against the Uyghur people, escaping accountability. Over the last six years, the global community has observed the Uyghur population subjected to mass forced sterilisation, internment, torture, systematic rape, forced labour, and even organ harvesting. Despite undeniable evidence such as satellite images and survivors’ testimonies, numerous governments and corporations worldwide continue to be complicit in the CCP’s crimes, driven by fear of challenging China’s economic power and showing a blatant disregard for human rights.
“As we commemorate Human Rights Day, it is crucial to reflect on the origins of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this occasion, our communities – Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Hong Kongers – reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the pursuit of human rights for our people and emphasise that the Chinese regime must be held accountable for its long-standing crimes and acts of genocide.”
Dr. Shao Jiang, June Fourth Sparks’ co-founder, said: “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has consistently denied everyone’s right to periodic and genuine elections, and thus its regime has never been authorised by the will of the people. The 74-year rule of the CCP is illegal under Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Kingdom has been the first country in the Western world to recognize the CCP regime, and has participated in the deprivation of the human rights under the CCP rule, economic plunder and exploitation，which is one of the basic reasons for the continuing man-made disasters under the CCP rule, leading to the ongoing deterioration in human rights and democracy in the United Kingdom.”
The protest was wrapped up just before 4pm with closing remarks from Tsering Passang, a co-organiser, who is the founder and chair of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities. Passang thanked everyone for their participation during this year’s Human Rights Day protest in London for sending a strong message to China and the international community whilst reiterating the importance of coming together to challenge the brutal regime in Beijing. He added: “The people of East Turkistan, Hong Kong, Southern Mongolia and Tibet will gain freedoms only when positive changes come to China. Until then we must continue our campaigns in joint force”.
The London Protest: ‘March for Freedom’ – Human Rights Day 2023 was organised by:
- Free Tibet
- Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities
- Hong Kong Aid
- Hong Kong Liberty
- Power to Hongkongers
- Stop Uyghur Genocide
- Students for a Free Tibet (UK)
- Tibetan Community in Britain
- Uyghur Community UK
- Voice of Southern Mongolia
- World Uyghur Congress
Media Coverage
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) 
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