Chinese officials seeking to build a ‘mega embassy’ opposite Tower Bridge offered residents rebelling against the plans the sweetener of free martial arts lessons, leaving campaigners fuming over the ‘cheapskate’ offer.
China bought the site of the former Royal Mint for £255m in 2018 and unveiled plans for the largest embassy in Europe.
However, the 20,000 square metre development has been opposed by residents and triggered security concerns, given MI5’s revelation that China poses a daily threat to the UK.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed had been due to rule on the application by 21 October, but the deadline has been delayed until 10 December.
Residents in St Mary Graces Court, which borders the embassy, fear the building would rob them of privacy and attract protests by groups opposed to the Communist regime.
The 100 flats in the court are on land now owned by the Chinese government as they are part of the Royal Mint estate.
That means the Chinese are now their landlords, and they fear that they will be snooped on by the embassy.
Some of the flats are only eight metres from the Embassy fenc,e which has been dubbed ‘The little wooden fence of Wapping’ in a lighthearted play on the Great Wall of China.
Mark Nygate, treasurer of the Royal Mint Court residents’ association, which is opposing the plans, told Metro the Chinese had ‘run roughshod’ over locals.
He said: ‘When they first proposed the embassy, we were open-minded.
‘We were invited into the building to meet Chinese officials. As it was the old Royal Mint building, we took them a gift of a presentation case with some coins in.
We even made sure the case was red, and they are communists, so we thought it was a nice touch. We chatted with them, and then a woman came up to us and said the embassy would be wonderful for us and she would ensure we were given free Tai-chi lessons.
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‘We didn’t really know what to say, we had given them the coins and they were just fobbing us off really.
‘I mean, they paid £255m for the building, and it will impact our lives and privacy massively. It’s a bit cheapskate to say the least, not much of a sweetener!’
Since that meeting, the campaigners have raised funds to pay a barrister to prepare arguments against the development.
They say protesters, mainly Hong Kong activists, have already been demonstrating against the Chinese government at the site.
That has caused fear in the local community that the embassy could also become a target for terrorists. They also estimate a huge increase in traffic from embassy vehicles.
Mark, an accountant who has lived in his flat for 27 years, added: ‘In their development they will have shatterproof glass in case of bomb attack.
‘My flat is just metres from the embassy. We would be in danger. We have asked the developers to provide us with new windows, as they will be our landlords, but they say it’s too expensive.
‘They are offering nothin,g and we will be living on Chinese territory. I will be living closer to Beijing than London in many ways.
‘As landlords they will control us. They will build balconies for staff accommodation, looking into our homes.
‘What happens if we put a protest flag up or do something they don’t like. They would legally be able to come in. We have been given zero assurances – we are frightened we will be under their control.’
Concerns on an official level have been raised over the proximity of the embassy to fibre optic cables serving the City of London.
There are fears that the Chinese could tap into the cables for espionage purposes.
The level of the threat posed by Beijing has also recently been put into the spotlight after the collapse of the case against two men accused of spying for China.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped charges against parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, and academic Christopher Berry, 33, last month. Both men deny the allegations.
Former Labour deputy leader and housing secretary Angela Rayner previously asked why some rooms within its planning documents had been blanked out for ‘security reasons’.
The proposed complex would include offices, a large basement area, housing for 200 staff, and a new tunnel to connect the Embassy House to a separate building on the embassy grounds.
China’s application for the embassy was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 over safety and security concerns.
It resubmitted an identical application to the council in August 2024. The government then took over the decision in October because of the controversy surrounding the plans and the national security issues.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK has previously said the new complex would enhance ‘mutually beneficial cooperation’ between China and Britain.
In a diplomatic note released alongside Reed’s letter explaining his reasons for the latest delay, a Chinese official said objections to the site were “either ill-founded or unjustified”.
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