Raising the Palestinian flag over Westminster

by New Worker correspondent

 A protester has been charged after he climbed up Big Ben in Parliament Square to raise the Palestinian flag last weekend. He stayed there for 16 hours before coming down to end the action designed to spread awareness regarding the situation in Gaza and Britain's response to it. Large crowds gathered in support beyond a police cordon. Parliamentary tours cancelled and Westminster Bridge closed, while police also blocked pedestrian access at Parliament Square after protesters began to gather near the edge of the cordon.

A tribute to an untold tragedy

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined academics, solidarity campaigners and members of the film industry for an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Axis in 1945 last week. Chinese and British publishers hosted a series of events to pay tribute to the victory at the London Book Fair and one of them was the special screening of The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru at the Soho Hotel Screening Room in heart of London’s cinema world.

The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru is a 2024 documentary feature film about a little-known Japanese war-crime during World War II, produced and directed by Fang Li, that features family members of the British prisoners of war who were on board the Lisbon Maru. It not only rediscovers a long-silent history but also tells the story of how the peoples of China and Britain supported one another in the darkest of times. 

The Lisbon Maru was a Japanese transport ship carrying Japanese troops as well as over 1,800 mainly British and Empire prisoners of war. On 2nd October 1942, the ship was tragically sunk by a US submarine in the waters off Zhoushan, China. The Americans were unaware of the POWs on board.

Rather than assist the POWs, the Japanese shot many who were trying to escape. Many more drowned. In all, 828 lives were lost during the incident. However, this amount would have been higher but for the heroic efforts of the local Chinese fishermen who risked their own lives to save 384 British soldiers from the water. The heart of the film is based around those heroic fishermen and the risks they took to assist.

Through rare archival footage, survivor testimonies and expert interviews, this poignant documentary uncovers the harrowing journey of the prisoners as the ship began to sink leaving them trapped below deck. The film also highlights the role of the Chinese fishermen who risked their lives to rescue as many prisoners as they could.

Since its release in China The Sinking of Lisbon Maru has received widespread critical acclaim, achieving a remarkable rating of 9.3 on Douban, a popular Chinese social networking and review platform. It became the highest-grossing and most-watched Chinese documentary of 2024, won the Best Documentary award at the Silk Road Awards, and was selected as China’s submission for Best International Feature at the 97th  Oscars. Following talks with an independent distributor the film may soon go on a limited general release in the UK.

Stop the proxy war against Russia!

By New Worker correspondent

London comrades joined other activists from the International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity movement who were out and about in Brixton last weekend. And they received an extremely positive and friendly response from local people in the south London borough – a working class area with high levels of unemployment and poverty, at their picket on Saturday. Many people showed their support and had discussions with the protesters. These are some of the comments we had from the local people: "Why are we giving all that money to that guy in Ukraine (Zelensky)? He's got houses all over the world...We need that money for ordinary people here!...Fuck NATO! They are killing the whole world!" and "Spend money on people here, not on Ukraine, Look around you, you can see the devastation here!"

A friendship forged in war

Ambassador Zheng welcomes the guests at the reception

by New Worker correspondent

The Chinese Embassy hosted a special reception in London last weekend for the families of the Lisbon Maru survivors, commemorating a heroic rescue during World War II and celebrating the Spring Festival.
In October 1942 the Lisbon Maru, a freighter requisitioned by the Japanese army to transport more than 1,800 British prisoners of war  from Hong Kong to Japan, was torpedoed by an American submarine near the Zhoushan islands off Shanghai. As the ship sank, local fishermen risked their lives to rescue over 300 POWs.
At the event the Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang recounted the rescue that stands as a testament to the time when China and Britain fought side by side against Japanese fascist aggression. The rescue has left tales of the profound friendship between the people of the two countries – a friendship that "will never fade" and "has become a valuable asset" for bilateral relations, he added.
Lindsey Archer, the niece of a British soldier who perished when the ship went down, said that events like this help strengthen bonds and foster new friendships. She expressed that the families of both the British survivors and the Chinese rescuers have become a new community for her. Keeping the memory of their ancestors alive, she said, is crucial, as "what they suffered, lost, and sacrificed has shaped where we are today".
Last year, Lindsey, along with a dozen other descendants of the British POWs visited China to pay tribute to the fallen at the wreck site in Zhoushan. Kenneth Salmon, whose father was a Royal Artillery sergeant rescued from the sinking Lisbon Maru, described the emotional connection he felt during the visit. Reflecting on the friendships forged during the trip, he said there is "an emotional attachment" in Zhoushan.
He also expressed his appreciation for the presence of young children at the reception, stressing the importance of preserving the story of the rescue for future generations to learn about their ancestry and their family history.

BBC trashed!

photo: Martin Pope

by New Worker correspondent

Palestine Action activists smashed windows and splattered the BBC headquarters in Portland Place, London, with red paint last week in protest against the Beeb’s ongoing complicity in the genocide of Palestinians through its entrenched pro-Israel bias. The BBC was covered in blood-red paint to symbolise the Corporation’s responsibility for the blood spilled in Gaza and the state broadcaster’s role in whitewashing Israeli atrocities through its partial and biased coverage. For years, the BBC has consistently minimised Israel’s violence against Palestinians while amplifying the narratives of the Zionist oppressors.
“The BBC’s biased reporting isn’t a simple case of poor journalism – it’s a matter of life and death. By downplaying Israeli war crimes, the BBC is complicit in the genocide unfolding in Gaza,” said a spokesperson for Palestine Action. “This isn’t just about the news – it’s about the role of the media in shaping global complicity. The BBC has blood on its hands, and today’s action is part of a wider campaign to hold them accountable. We will not stand by as the BBC sanitises genocide“.

Cease-fire in Gaza, Yemen and Ukraine now!

by New Worker correspondent

Some 200,000 people from all over Britain joined the national Palestine Solidarity Campaign march from Westminster to the US Embassy on the other side of the River Thames on Saturday. This reflected the massive support across the country for self-determination for the Palestinian Arabs, a sovereign state of their own, and a secure life free from hunger and ceaseless Israeli military and Zionist settler violence. 
They were joined by anti-fascist activists calling for NATO to end its war in Ukraine and an end to Israel's genocidal wars who received an overwhelming, 100 per cent positive response from supporters of Palestinian liberation last weekend. Their protest was organised by International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS), which has campaigned in solidarity with anti-fascists and democrats in Ukraine and in exile since 2017.
Over 100 people, including many media photographers and journalists, filmed or took photos of the IUAFS action, and over 40 joined the campaigners briefly to have their photos taken with the protesters. The enthusiasm for the IUAFS was incredible and many people thanked us for linking NATO’s role in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. 
The protesters were most appreciative of the placards declaring that the Global South, the majority of humanity, oppose Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, NATO’s support for the Banderite gangsters in Kiev, and the ten years long bombing of the people of Yemen.
Members of IUAFS believe that their solidarity actions will still be needed long after an agreement to end the conflict is Ukraine is reached. They point out that Britain and its imperialist allies are already planning networks to conduct terrorism in the future with the eventual goal of destroying and dividing the Russian Federation.

Palestinian lives matter!

picket outside Israel ambassador's London residence

by New Worker correspondent

Local campaigns across Britain are pressuring councils to divest pension funds from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has released updated research revealing that Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, administered by local councils across the United Kingdom, invest over £12 billion in companies enabling Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against the Palestinian Arabs.
Freedom of information requests have resulted in the most complete picture yet of the investments of 81 out the total of 86 LGPS funds. Hundreds of millions of pounds are invested in arms companies supplying Israel with weapons including BAE Systems, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin and RTX Corporation.
The research, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, details the investments of 81 LGPS funds in companies which produce weapons and military technology used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians; provide services or infrastructure that supports Israel’s unlawful military occupation; or conduct activity in Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land.
Collectively LGPS funds invest over £450million in BAE Systems, which manufactures components for Israel’s F-15, F-16, and F-35 warplanes used to bomb Gaza. Over £80 million is invested in Caterpillar, which manufactures bulldozers used by Israel to demolish Palestinian homes, schools and hospitals. While over £90 million is invested in the RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon, which produces 4,000-pound GBU-28 bombs used by the Israeli military.
For the first time, PSC’s research identifies investments in Amazon and Alphabet Inc (Google). This totals £4.7 billion, nearly 40 per cent of the value of all investments listed. Both companies work together to provide cloud computing infrastructure to the Israeli military and government, dubbed Project Nimbus. In addition, the research shows LGPS funds hold over £28 million in Israeli government bonds, therefore lending Israel money to carry out its atrocities.
The new research comes as campaigns calling for the divestment of LGPS funds from companies enabling Israel’s human rights abuses continue to gather momentum. Earlier this month Tower Hamlets Council passed a motion committing to divest its pension fund from arms companies, following a strong local campaign. While Bristol City Council has called for Avon Pension Fund to divest from arms companies, and companies active in Israel’s illegal settlements.
Lewis Backon, the Campaigns Officer at Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said “the scale of LGPS fund investments in companies that are complicit in Israel’s grave abuses of Palestinian rights is shocking. The deferred wages of millions of local government workers are going into companies enabling Israel’s war crimes, without their consent. But workers and residents are making it increasingly clear that they won’t accept their pension funds being used to fund companies complicit in genocide and apartheid. This year will see the LGPS Divest campaign grow as a force for justice for Palestine – divestment from Israel’s crimes is a moral and legal imperative that cannot be ignored”.

Welcoming the Chinese New Year!

by New Worker correspondent

Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang joined tens of thousands of Londoners celebrating the start of the Chinese New Year in the heart of the capital last weekend. Some 800,000 people joined in the Spring Festival celebrations organised by the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA) in Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and other landmark places. 
The LCCA has hosted Chinese New Year celebrations in Trafalgar Square for 24 consecutive years, making it the largest Chinese New Year celebration event outside Asia. This year's opening ceremony lasted for six hours, with lion and dragon dances enchanting the audience. Similar performances and more including parade floats were also organised in Chinatown and Piccadilly Circus, attracting tourists from all over the world who tasted first-hand the charm of traditional Chinese culture.
Ambassador Zheng said that the Spring Festival, the social practices of the Chinese people celebrating the traditional new year, has now been officially designated as part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which adds a particular meaning to this year’s grand celebrations. The Chinese New Year celebration is all about renewal, family unity, and prosperity. And this is exactly what people from across the UK and beyond have gathered here for--to celebrate peace, solidarity, friendship and collaboration. It also shows their support for China-UK friendship and cooperation.
He thanked the LCCA for its long-standing effort in promoting cultural, educational and commercial cooperation between the two countries, and extended best wishes for the Chinese New Year to the Chinese community, students and Chinese-funded institutions in the UK and to people across the UK and all over the world.

Standing up to racism in London!

by New Worker correspondent

Thousands of people took to the streets of London last weekend to protest against a far-right march in favour of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the jailed racist who calls himself “Tommy Robinson”. Some five thousand anti-racists rallied in central London for the protest organised by Stand Up to Racism that was supported by the TUC, 17 trade unions, and a coalition of faith groups, national campaigns and Labour and Green politicians. 
The far-right demonstration, some 5,000 or so “football lads” and third-rate fascists – was a fraction of the 25,000 that marched at their most recent mobilisation in October. Eyewitness reports suggest infighting and rowing amongst the far right demonstrators. Anti racists argue this reflects tensions within the far-right camp, such as the distance Nigel Farage has attempted to create between his Reform Party and Robinson’s street movement, as well as other pressures amongst these far right groupings and individuals.
Eyewitnesses at the far right demo say they heard Islamophobic chants while Howard Cox, a former Reform Party London mayoral candidate, called for unity between the Faragists and Robinson’s followers, and echoed Trump’s release of the Capitol Hill rioters by calling for the release of all the August far right rioters in Britain. Another  speaker said “round them up and kick them out” and “start the deportation programme for those who refuse to assimilate”.
With the racists threatening to mobilise again on 22nd  March, Stand Up To Racism is only the more determined to turn our day of protest as part of the international World Against Racism day of action into a serious anti-racist mobilisation to continue to take on the far right and oppose them.
Weyman Bennett, co-convenor of Stand Up to Racism, said “Today we might not have brought the 20,000 strong demonstration we delivered in October, but with a much shorter turn around time and so early in the new year we are feeling energised, encouraged and determined in the fight to drive back the threat of the far right and fascists after today’s impressive showing.
“To see their numbers plummet so dramatically to something like a quarter of what they put on the streets in the autumn – it shows both the weakness and divisions on their side, and it shows we can continue to build a strong united force that can keep bringing to pressure to dissipate, demoralise and defeat them.
“This will take an enormous and ongoing effort, and a real seriousness – we must not be complacent. But take hope from today – what we do matters, we can, if we bring consistent pressure from a broad and united movement taking action – and we can turn this tide.
“In the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, we must remember the lessons of the 1930s. We cannot repeat the history that will lead to more future generations repeating the question: ‘But why didn’t everyone do something?’ – a united movement that exposes and opposes the fascists and calls out the racist swamp they operate in can stop them”.

Saying no to genocide!

by New Worker correspondent

On 27 January, International Holocaust Memorial Day, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), arranged an alternative memorial service outside the Polish embassy in London to call for the arrest of Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who was attending the official service at Auschwitz, the former Nazi death camp in Poland. The Polish government had already promised to ignore the ICC (International Criminal Court) arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu for potential war crimes.
Interestingly the Russians, who liberated Auschwitz, have not been invited to the official ceremony for some years, while German politicians, representing the country that committed the Holocaust are honoured guests.
Two of the themes of the protest were education on other lesser acknowledged and unpunished crimes and genocides and the misuse of the Nazi Holocaust to prevent criticism of Israel and its actions.
Stephen Kapos is a Jewish child Holocaust survivor. As a child, he wore the yellow star, and avoided deportation from Budapest to the camps in 1945 by going into hiding. He was a long-standing Labour Party member, in the same local branch as Keir Starmer, until he was threatened with expulsion in 2023 for agreeing to address a Holocaust Memorial Day event that the Labour hierarchy disagreed with. So he resigned instead of being expelled.
Stephen has always supported the Palestinian cause and calls for the end of illegal occupations and since October 2023 he has spoken tirelessly for this cause; for a ceasefire, the end of weapons sales, and for the decisions of the ICC and ICJ to be implemented. He sees his Jewishness as central to his support for the Palestinians and he spoke of his disgust at the Nazi Holocaust being used to cover up and justify the ongoing slaughter in Palestine, and now Syria and Lebanon.
Clare Glasman from disabled advocacy group, WinVisible, spoke of how the Nazi Holocaust began with the dehumanisation of the disabled and sick before moving on to other marginalised groups in society, and how the Aktion T4 Euthanasia Programme, beginning in 1939, gassed disabled people in Germany years before the Final Solution and the extermination camps.
Other speakers from Rwanda, Vietnam and Kenya spoke of more recent genocides from direct experience, and the need to use these crimes as examples to prevent them happening again. A speaker from Colombia covered the New World from the arrival of Columbus to the African slave trade.
One constant across the speakers was that what the Nazis did in Europe was not new. Western countries had behaved the same way in Africa, Asia and the Americas for centuries. What was new was bringing colonialism to Europe, and treating Europeans in the same way as what was then seen as the ‘lesser breeds’. Across the globe, bourgeois politicians are using divisive rhetoric and tactics to divide people and set them against each other, aided by the media. All speakers spoke of the importance of people and communities under attack to stand together and support each other, how Palestine is the crucial issue of our time and the need for international support and solidarity.