The Chinese Embassy decision is shameful

Today’s approval of China’s Super Embassy in central London could compromise our national security, it could make sensitive financial information vulnerable, and it represents a huge propaganda gift to the Chinese Communist Party.

But most heartbreakingly of all it fundamentally shatters the trust of Hong Kongers who sought political refuge in Britain, and now feel that the authoritarian system they fled is following them here.

We can never accept the CCP’s transnational repression - nor allow a foreign government to surveil and intimidate British citizens far beyond its own borders.

Let us be absolutely clear about what transnational repression looks like: Protestors gathering in London’s squares have been monitored by drones. Pensioners are locked out of their Mandatory Providence Fund account - denying them access to their own money. Neighbours of a pro-democracy activist have received explicit deepfaked pictures of her in the post, and offers of money to bring her to the Chinese consulate.

Hong Kongers fear showing their face in photos online - and wear masks in public near facial recognition cameras, due to worries over that data being accessed by the Chinese state. In Manchester, a protester was dragged off the street into the Chinese consulate and beaten.

In my own constituency of Sutton and Cheam, attendees of the launch of a children’s book - yes, a children’s book - received a chilling warning from the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

The government should never have entertained this application, even for a minute. It is the Prime Minister’s biggest foreign policy mistake yet, seemingly done only to gain favour with the Chinese government. Considering that a British national - Jimmy Lai - is on the cusp of being sentenced in Hong Kong after a craven political prosecution, this is the last thing the UK government should be doing.

We must now see if and how this case progresses in court. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will never stop standing up for the rights of Hong Kongers in the UK and their protection from forces who hate that they are able to live a freer, more fulfilling life in our democracy.