'Keir Starmer risks sacrificing Britain's democracy with China mega embassy plan'

This is not the Britain I know.

I escaped from Hong Kong, a place once governed by Britain, built on the rule of law and founded on the principles of freedom of speech, assembly, and the press. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, a treaty signed by the UK and China, was supposed to mean Hong Kong stayed that way, at least for 50 years after Hong Kong was handed over in 1997. We were promised a "high degree of autonomy" through the framework known as "One Country, Two Systems."

In 2019, when millions of Hong Kongers took to the streets to stand up for democracy, Beijing completely trashed the Declaration and its promises, claiming it was "a historical document" that was no longer valid. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) then imposed the so-called National Security Law (NSL) to suppress the movement, criminalising any form of dissent and shuttering pro-democracy media. What followed was a systematic crackdown targeting anyone who dared to speak out.
Since then, the Hong Kong authorities have issued arrest warrants and bounties for myself and 33 other Hong Kongers living overseas. We're labelled "fugitives" for seeking democracy in Hong Kong, accused of violating the NSL. My own bounty stands at HK$1 million, roughly £100,000. Our bounties show that what happened in Hong Kong is not a local issue; the CCP will export its repression everywhere unless we stand up to it.

For years, many in the international community believed China could be a valuable economic partner, bringing investment, trade, and prosperity. In Hong Kong, we opened the door to Chinese business interests, welcoming them in good faith. We knew there were risks. What we didn't fully realise was that these risks were not just economic, they were political, and a threat to universal values.

Hong Kong business owners quickly learned that they could not speak out against the Chinese government. Beijing demanded they publicly condemn the protests and those that failed to comply faced consequences. The airline, Cathay Pacific, was pressured to fire employees who participated in demonstrations. Smaller businesses that expressed support for democracy were harassed, investigated, or forced to shut down, hamstrung by regulatory violations.
In short, Hong Kong is a cautionary example of how quickly economic dependency can become political submission. China has poured investment into countries across Africa through the Belt and Road Initiative and uses that economic influence as political leverage to manipulate local governments.
And there are signs the same is happening here, in Britain: The Chinese state now holds substantial stakes in key sectors of the UK economy. It owns a majority of Northumbrian Water, controls 10 percent of Heathrow Airport, and 100 percent of UK Power Networks. These are not minor investments, they are critical infrastructure.

The Labour Party describes its approach to China as "compete, cooperate, and challenge." On paper, that sounds reasonable. But in practice, where is the "challenge"? Raising human rights concerns behind closed doors is not sufficient.

Take, for example, China's proposal to build a mega-embassy in central London. This site would include over 200 residential units, giving diplomatic immunity to an unusually large number of staff. Intelligence officials, local residents, and activists have raised concerns that the embassy could be used as a surveillance hub. And yet, the proposal has been taken out of the hands of the local council and backed by government ministers.
The embassy is emblematic of a short-sighted Labour government set on sacrificing Britain's democracy and security for the promise of economic gain. This is not the Britain I recognise. If we truly want to uphold democracy, we cannot treat authoritarian regimes like China as partners. We must be honest about the nature of the CCP and the threat it poses, not just to the people of Hong Kong, but to all who value freedom, accountability, and sovereignty.

Britain must decide whether it will remain a nation that stands up for human rights, or whether it will look the other way. What happened in Hong Kong must never be repeated. Not here. Not anywhere.