The Chinese Communist Party’s plan to establish a massive “super embassy” at the site of the former Royal Mint in London, UK has sparked fierce opposition from both the British political arena and the public due to its mysterious underground facilities and potential network security risks.
According to a report by The Telegraph on the 26th, the UK Conservative Party revealed that last October, the government’s network expert organization, Innovate UK, sent an email to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government urging them to investigate the Chinese Communist Party’s “super embassy” project.
The UK government’s network experts warned in the email that this massive building complex promoted by Beijing plans to provide apartments for 200 diplomats and even includes plans for large-scale mysterious underground facilities, located adjacent to the secure telephone exchange center of British Telecommunications (BT).
The experts pointed out that many fiber optic cables in the London financial center pass through this exchange center, and the existence of underground facilities could allow the Chinese Communist Party to steal sensitive information and even conduct espionage activities.
The email also indicated that the Chinese embassy plan conflicts with the UK government’s defense, foreign policy, security laws, and regulations. It was evident from the previous application process that local authorities notably lack the capability to handle such applications, especially from the perspective of national security.
Initially, the UK Labour government refused to disclose the emails from Innovate UK, but the Conservative Party forced the release of these contents through the Environmental Information Regulations.
Conservative Shadow Minister for Community Affairs Kevin Hollinrake criticized the ruling party and urged the UK government to follow the examples of Ireland and Australia in preventing this potential risk project. The Conservative Party even bluntly stated that this embassy could become a base for “Chinese hackers and spies”.
For years, the Chinese Communist Party has been trying to push forward plans to construct large new embassies. The Tower Hamlets Council has twice rejected the planning applications locally.
The Conservative Party revealed that the new Chinese plans are almost identical to the first set of plans, and the community department under the Labour-led government has already intervened in the review.
The publicized plans show that the embassy has two unmarked basement suites and a tunnel, raising questions from the British media about whether these facilities are “spy dungeons” set up by the Chinese Communist Party.
In fact, as early as 2022, experts warned that this embassy could cause “national controversy” and have ramifications beyond the scope of London.
In February of this year, nearly 30 civil society organizations and local residents, totaling over 4,000 people, held a demonstration outside the old Royal Mint to oppose the construction of the “super embassy” by the Chinese Communist Party, with four Members of Parliament showing up to support the protesters.