Chloe Chong has lived in London since 2021. She fled Hong Kong after participating in protests against growing Chinese influence there, writes ARD. In the British capital, she works for an NGO that fights for the civil rights of political prisoners.
“China's long arm reaches all the way here”, says the 20-year-old woman. In December 2024, the Hong Kong police announced a reward for her capture – – – “They want to use it to motivate people to forcibly hand me over to the embassy“, explains the young woman. Now, even in London, she does not feel safe. She doesn't share her phone number with anyone and communicates only through encrypted messaging platforms.
Another young woman, Chloe Lo, also feels the long hand of China all the way to London. She also fled Hong Kong. But the start in the new place was difficult - it turns out that she can't use her savings, which she transferred to the British bank HSBC. The financial institution explained to her that she doesn't have permission from the Hong Kong authorities to travel. This is not the only difficulty in Lo's life, ARD reports. For example, her father has stopped communicating with her for fear of being persecuted at home.
The British government should be concerned
British politics are also looking into these cases. Natalie Bennett of the Green Party, who is a member of the British House of Lords, has been observing China's growing influence for years: "The British government should be concerned that the safety and freedom of a young woman who came here to seek asylum are at risk."
In 2019 and 2020, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest, ARD recalls. They spoke out in defense of freedom of the press, freedom of speech and civil rights. For many, it quickly became clear: Beijing's growing influence would be irreversible. 150,000 people fled to Britain alone.
Controversial plans for a new embassy
However, Chinese influence in Britain continues to grow. Beijing has acquired a huge historic building in central London - the place where British coins used to be minted. The plan is to move the Chinese embassy there. It will be the largest embassy building in the UK.
There are both security concerns and criticism of the location - if a protest is organised outside the Chinese embassy, a large and important area of London would be blocked, explains the ARD. The government is expected to make a final decision on whether the Chinese embassy can be moved there by June. The British government is at a loss to criticise China, let alone show it the limits of what is possible. The communist state is an important trading partner, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping for investment.
Conflict between economic and security interests
China is fiercely asserting its position, as evidenced by an incident at the Chinese consulate in Manchester in 2022: then dissidents protested outside the consulate and staff tore down their posters. During the confrontation, a demonstrator was apparently forcibly taken into the consulate. British police managed to free him, but the incident sparked public discussion. Was this an attempted kidnapping? At the very least, it was an attempt at mass intimidation, writes ARD.
Nigel Inkster takes a fairly sober view of such incidents. He was the director of the operations department of the British intelligence service MI-6. “A city like London is full of people who do things that the government does not want”, says Inkster. “This is an open society and foreign intelligence agencies are active here in various ways. Sometimes within the law, sometimes not.”
Unfortunately, the resources to counter this are limited, the German public-law media outlet specifies. That is why British security forces are trying to prevent the worst, says the former MI-6 employee. At the same time, Inkster sees a conflict between Britain's economic interests and its security interests. Especially with regard to China.
The protests continue
For Chloe Law and Chloe Chong, this is a problem. But they have no intention of giving up and will continue to protest against the new "mega embassy" in London.
Thousands gathered at the site last week. Chong says she worries that if Beijing's plans work, they will have even more resources, space and people. "To repress us and silence us," the young woman says.