10th January: Tower Hamlets Council has agreed to propose renaming local roads and buildings Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court, Hong Kong Road, and Tibet Hill in reaction to China’s desire to erect a new embassy in London, according to reports.
According to various reports, local councilors in the London borough of Tower Hamlets are pushing to rename the roads directly surrounding the three buildings that will make up the embassy to express “support for the freedom and diversity of our borough,” which is likely to enrage the Chinese government.
Rahima Mahmut, who has lived in Tower Hamlets for almost two decades, is one of the campaign’s driving forces. Mahmut, an ethnic Uyghur who migrated to London two decades ago, said she had to wait three years for a passport to exit China.
The musician told the MyLondon website about the three buildings that the Chinese government had purchased: “It’s like they’re building their own palace there. It’s like a fortress facing the Tower Bridge.”
According to reports, she stated, “We are asking Tower Hamlets Council to dedicate three names to three different communities that are being affected by Chinese government oppression – Tibet Hill, Uyghur Court, and Hong Kong Square, It would be symbolic.”
“Three years to get my passport and get a visa to come to the UK as a student. Two years later, my son and his father joined me. I never went back,” she added.
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