Concerned British policemen—“counterterrorism police” who, we must hope, are not the same guys who visit Britons in their homes for social-media opining or who arrest Britons in the street for praying silently—reasonably object to “a planned Chinese super-embassy” in London (The Sunday Times, November 24, 2024).
Except that the reason they give for objecting is not quite right.
The prime minister has been warned by counterterrorism police that a planned Chinese super-embassy near the Tower of London would be a prime target for protests and put the public at risk.
Sir Keir Starmer admitted last week that he had asked ministers to examine the plans submitted by China for the 620,000 sq ft site, which have already been rejected once, after President Xi raised the matter with him.
However, soon after the decision to call in the application was announced, counterterrorism police raised “significant” concerns over the safety of tourists and people who live near by.
The prime minister told Xi during a meeting at the G20 in Brazil: “You raised the Chinese embassy in London when we spoke on the phone. We have since taken action by calling in that application.”
That people might protest a beefed-up headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party’s transnational terrorizing of Chinese nationals residing in the UK is not really what counterterrorism police are or should be worried about, is it? Of course, whether the protesters turn out to be a problem depends on what they do. But let’s assume that they would only be demonstrating against the CCP and not also looting, burning, and rampaging.
If the anti-CCP protesters are themselves peaceful, the real problem for counterterrorism police would only be the CCP diplomo-thugs and the British government’s empowerment of these thugs.
Diplomo-thugs are “diplomats” who declare that charges of transnational repression are “groundless and malicious” while engaging in it.
But let’s move on. To ask: Why is the current prime minister, Starmer, not only talking to Xi Jinping but doing the bidding of Xi Jinping? Is helping the diplomo-thugs establish a stronger presence in London part and parcel of keeping lines of communication open, the job the previous administration is said to have bungled?
