[A GATPM Statement] Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities Voices Serious Concern Following UK Government Approval of China’s Controversial Mega-Embassy at Royal Mint Court

GATPM | London | 20 January 2026

The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) expresses its profound disappointment and serious concern at the UK Government’s decision to grant planning consent for the People’s Republic of China’s proposed “mega-embassy” at Royal Mint Court, London. This decision, taken despite sustained opposition and more than fifty public protests, represents a significant setback for local democracy, community safety, and public confidence in transparent decision-making.

For more than five years, residents of Tower Hamlets and surrounding communities have consistently and unequivocally opposed this development. Tower Hamlets Council twice rejected the proposal, citing substantial concerns relating to public safety, policing pressures, protest management, heritage protection, and long-term community impact. Those refusals reflected the clearly expressed democratic will of local residents and were informed by professional assessments from policing and security bodies. The subsequent reversal of these positions, following intense political and diplomatic pressure, has understandably raised serious public concern.

The central government’s decision to override local authority determinations sets a troubling precedent. The application was formally “called in” after sustained diplomatic engagement and a direct intervention by Chinese President Xi Jinping with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in 2024. This sequence of events risks conveying the perception that the preferences of a foreign authoritarian state can supersede local democratic processes, community consent, and previously stated security concerns within the United Kingdom.

GATPM is also deeply concerned that the approval appears to give insufficient weight to widely documented national security considerations. The site’s proximity to sensitive communications and data infrastructure, including networks supporting London’s financial district, raises legitimate and unresolved questions. The establishment of the largest diplomatic compound in Europe, operated by an authoritarian state with a well-documented record of overseas surveillance and intimidation, necessitates the highest level of scrutiny. Any future security failure would have real and direct consequences for residents, protesters, and the wider public.

Beyond infrastructure and planning considerations, the human impact of this decision must not be underestimated. Members of persecuted diaspora communities – including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, and Chinese democracy activists – now face heightened anxiety about surveillance, intimidation, and transnational repression. As Tsering Passang, Founder-Chair of GATPM, and Clara Cheung, community activist and former Hong Kong district councillor, have publicly warned, this development risks becoming not merely a diplomatic facility but a strategic extension of authoritarian influence into an open and democratic society. Such an outcome would undermine the UK’s long-standing commitment to providing refuge and protection to those fleeing repression.

Local residents and businesses, meanwhile, face the prospect of ongoing disruption, large-scale demonstrations, intrusive security measures, and sustained policing activity in their neighbourhood – impacts they neither sought nor endorsed. These realities raise urgent questions about civil liberties, quality of life, and proportionality that remain inadequately addressed.

GATPM stands in full solidarity with local residents, community organisations, and human rights defenders who opposed this development in good faith. We strongly support the judicial review brought by the Royal Mint Court Residents Association (RMCRA), which now represents one of the final avenues to uphold democratic accountability, transparency, and the rule of law. We encourage all those concerned about these issues to support RMCRA’s crowdfunding efforts to ensure this legal challenge can proceed.

We also acknowledge and thank the many Members of Parliament, councillors, civil society organisations, community groups, and security experts who raised principled objections to this proposal. Parliamentary scrutiny must not end here. GATPM calls on parliamentarians across all parties to continue exploring legislative, procedural, and political avenues to revisit this decision and to ensure that local democracy and national security are never subordinated to external authoritarian pressure.

GATPM further calls for:

• Independent and transparent scrutiny of the decision-making process, including disclosure of communications between UK officials and the Government of the People’s Republic of China;
• Robust, enforceable safeguards to protect civil liberties, local residents, and diaspora communities from surveillance, intimidation, or harassment;
• A full parliamentary inquiry into the security assessments, planning integrity, and democratic accountability surrounding the approval of major foreign state projects with significant geopolitical implications.

This decision must not mark the end of scrutiny. It must mark the beginning of sustained vigilance. The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities will continue to explore every lawful and democratic avenue to defend human rights, transparency, and democratic integrity in the United Kingdom.

Contact:
Tsering Passang
Founder-Chair, Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
Mob: +44 (0)7927 376532
Email: info@gatpm.com

Called-in decision: Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4QN (refs. 3353754 and 3353755 – 20 January 2026)