China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims sparks anger near new embassy site in London

China’s decision to move its British embassy from London’s upmarket West End to the less glitzy east could have been a heart-warming tale of homecoming. The new mission will be built at the former Royal Mint, just a stone’s throw from the city’s original 19th century Chinatown.

China plans to refurbish the building and establish its biggest diplomatic mission in the world at the site, set just back from the River Thames on the outskirts of London’s financial center. It could be years until the embassy actually moves, but it’s already facing opposition from some local councilors and residents.

Just behind the former Royal Mint are the residential streets of Tower Hamlets, where four in 10 residents are Muslim, the highest proportion than in any other borough in the United Kingdom. Some there say the embassy isn’t welcome until Beijing stops its alleged mistreatment of Muslims in China.

China is believed to have detained up to 2 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps in the far-western region of Xinjiang, according to the US State Department. Beijing says it’s providing vocational training and helping to deradicalize segments of the population to combat alleged Islamic terrorism and violence in the region.

But accounts of abuse at the camps — including forced labor, forced sterilizations of women and sexual assault — are growing.

“I’m very perplexed as to why the People’s Republic of China would want to be on the edges of a neighborhood that is so multi-ethnic, multi-religious. The Muslim community has a large base here,” said Mo Rakib, a Muslim resident who is active in community affairs.

“The Muslim community is very linked with each other, regardless of what part of the world we’re from. There’s always a feeling of affinity from one community to the other based on shared values and shared faith. And that’s no different for the Uyghur community.”

Source: cnn.com

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