Uighur Court and Tianamen Square considered by council as names for roads near new Chinese Embassy

The former Royal Mint building in Tower Hamlets, which is set to become China's largest European embassy

Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Uighur Court and Tiananmen Square have been considered by a council as new names for roads around the relocated Chinese Embassy in east London.

Tower Hamlets Council has approved a motion which will support renaming buildings and roads in the surrounding area.

The list of new names, which has been the subject of various motions since September, also include Hong Kong Road, Tibet Hill and Hong Kong Square.

After it bought the former Royal Mint building in the borough in 2018, China plans to turn the land into its largest embassy in Europe.

“It’s really important that we call out the Chinese Communist Party’s activities and human rights violations against Uighur Muslims, and also call out what they’re doing in Tibet," said Rabina Khan, the Liberal Democrat councillor who wrote and proposed the resolution and motion on Wednesday.

"We have a rich history with China, and we’re proud they have chosen our borough for the Embassy, but at the same time we’ve got to stand our ground.

“I’ve got a couple of residents who live on Cable Street in my ward, and it’s the Jewish community leading the fight against what’s happening to the Uighur Muslims."

Pema Yoko, the chair of the Tibetan Community in Britain, said: “We feel that this is vital and we’re excited to hear they’ve agreed to look at the name changes.

"We want to make sure Tower Hamlets stands on the right side of history.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a video call with British National Overseas (BNO) families from Hong Kong who have come to the UK.

Since the end of January, 27,000 applications have been received from BNO status holders wishing to start a new life in the UK after the Government created a pathway to citizenship amid China’s new National Security Law.