Reuters
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The British government on Friday extended the deadline until October and decided whether to approve China’s plan to build the largest embassy in London after refusing to fully explain why Beijing included areas trapped in the plan.
Due to opposition from British locals, lawmakers and Hong Kong democratic activists, China’s plans to build a new embassy on the grounds of a second-century building near the London Tower have been stagnating for the past three years.
British and American politicians have warned that China is trying to allow embassies to be built on the ground regarding concerns that China could be used as a spy base.
DP9, a planning consultant company working for the Chinese government, said it felt inappropriate for the client to provide a complete internal layout plan and that the additional drawings provided an acceptable level of detail.
“The applicant believes the level of detail shown in the unedited plan is sufficient to identify the main uses,” DP9 said in a letter to the government.
“In these circumstances, we believe it is neither necessary nor appropriate to provide a more detailed internal layout plan or detail.”
The UK Government Housing Authority stated under the response whether the project could proceed by September 9th by October 21st, as it needed more time to consider the response.
Luke de Palford, executive director of China’s Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, is a group with ties to the international network of Chinese-criminal politicians who revealed the letter, saying “these explanations are far from satisfactory.”
“The assurance exists, ‘Trust me,'” said De Pulford, a longtime critic of the embassy’s plan.
The Chinese Embassy in London has expressed “serious concern” about the government’s response.
The embassy said the host state has a “international obligation” to support the construction of diplomatic construction.
“The Chinese side is urging the UK to fulfill its obligations and approve planning applications without delay,” the embassy said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the embassy said the building claims that it is a “demeaning slander” that is used to harm the UK’s national security.
The Chinese government purchased the Royal Mint Court in 2018, but in 2022 a request to plan planning permission for a new embassy was denied.
The Stame Central Government last year controlled planning decisions.
