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A British court has ruled that the planned construction of a new Chinese “mega” embassy in central London can go forward, and dismissed a lawsuit pleading the contrary.
The ruling by the High Court on Friday rejected the legal challenge brought earlier this month by The Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association, which alleges that the embassy’s development poses human rights risks to residents, including Chinese critics and dissidents.
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Two judges ruled remotely that the residents’ “claims are … dismissed”, saying the housing minister and the London district of Tower Hamlets had acted lawfully by granting planning permission in January.
China’s plans to build the embassy on the site of the two-century-old Royal Mint Court, located near the Tower of London, were approved shortly before ex-Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited China.
The residential association, which represents families and businesses in about 100 properties close to the proposed site, said the presence of the embassy could result in “terror” attacks, repression of protests, and claimed that the facility could be used to spy on and enforce “draconian” Chinese laws on UK territory.
The association further raised concerns about the risk of a fire, pointing out that the UK government would not be able to enforce British safety obligations because of diplomatic immunity.
“Beijing thinks this judgement is the final word. It isn’t. The appeal is already in the works,” Luke Pollard, head of the residents’ association, said in a statement.
“If they expect us to roll over and allow our own capital to become a CCP power centre, they have completely misjudged the strength of opposition to this mega embassy.”
Beijing bought the site of the historic former Royal Mint, next to the Tower of London, in 2018 for a reported $327m.
The 20,000-square-metre (215,000-square-foot) site is set to become the largest embassy complex in the United Kingdom by area.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, defended their position, saying they had “conscientiously and carefully had regard” to residents’ concerns in their planning.
Originally published on www.aljazeera.com — View original