Chinese ambassador Visits Yehudi Menuhin School

by New Worker correspondent 

On 14th November the Chinese Ambassador and his wife visited the Yehudi Menuhin to meet the school’s governors and teachers as well as the Chinese students who are preparing for a life in music at this famous school in Surrey.
Founded in 1963 by the celebrated violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, the school manifests his pioneering vision for a stimulating academic environment in which musically-gifted children, of all nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds, can hone their talents. 
Zheng Zeguang was warmly received by the school’s leadership, including David Buckley the Chair of Governors, and Head of the school Robin Haskins, who provided a detailed introduction to the school’s history, educational philosophy, and its cooperation with China.
Ambassador Zheng noted that the School is renowned for its world-class teaching and rich humanistic tradition, and that it has nurtured many outstanding Chinese artists and made significant contributions to cultural and artistic exchanges between China and the UK. Since the establishment of the Yehudi Menuhin School Qingdao in 2022, the two schools have used music as a bridge to play a unique role in promoting youth exchanges and mutual cultural learning between the two countries. The Chinese side welcomes the Yehudi Menuhin School’s deepening engagement and co-operation with China in music education, youth exchanges, and talent development.

No arms for Nazis!

by New Worker correspondent

Protesters sent a message to Starmer outside his official residence in Downing Street on Saturday demanding an end to the British government's support for the Banderite Nazi regime in Kiev. Every day we see reports on social media of Ukrainian troops brutally murdering civilians who have refused orders to evacuate from settlements in Donbas, where they’ve have been chased out by the Russians and Donbas forces along with international volunteers. For eleven and a half years the NATO puppet Kiev junta has rained death and terror on the people of Donbas, and imposed a brutal dictatorship across the whole of Ukraine, and particularly in Kharkov, Dnipro, Zaporizhia and Kherson, and in the past three years deliberately targeted buses, trains and individual civilians and buildings in the Russian Federation.
The protesters, activists from the International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity campaign, also called for the restoration of peace and freedom, and looked forward to the day when the fascist scourge was eliminated from the beautiful land of Ukraine.

Arrested for supporting Palestine Action

 by New Worker correspondent

The police arrested at least 47 supporters of the banned direct action group Palestine Action as they held a peaceful protest outside the Ministry of Justice in central London last week. Police dragged away protesters for simply carrying signs proclaiming “I support Palestine Action”. One protester screamed as she was dragged away by police: “Stop genocide in Palestine! We call on Keir Starmer to do the right thing. We want this Labour government to do the right thing”. They’re the latest of more than 2,000 arrests since Palestine Action was banned under the UK’s anti-terrorism laws, adding it to a list that includes ISIS and al-Qaeda. 

Six members of Palestine Action are on trial on charges of aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder after they broke into a factory that produces hardware for the Israeli weapons maker Elbit Systems and used sledgehammers to destroy equipment.

Starmer to approve new Chinese embassy

by Feng Fan & Chen Qingqing

The Starmer government is reportedly preparing to approve China's long-delayed plan to build a new embassy in central London, seven years after Beijing purchased the Royal Mint Court site in 2018. 
A Chinese expert said the move could inject fresh momentum into bilateral ties if finalised, but the years-long delays expose the contradictory nature of the UK's China policy.
According to the Times on Friday Keir Starmer is expected to formally approve the "super-sized" Chinese embassy next month after being given the green light by MI5 and MI6. The Home Office and Foreign Office will not raise any formal objections to the plan, providing that appropriate "mitigations" are put in place to protect national security, the report said.
While a final decision has not been formally taken, the BBC reported that advice provided to ministers by intelligence agencies "clears the path for the controversial project to be given the go ahead". 
China has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the prolonged delays. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London earlier noted that the application complies with diplomatic practice and local regulations and procedures, and that the development scheme of the new Chinese Embassy is of high quality and has been highly recognided by local professional bodies. The UK's repeated delay in approving the application is groundless and unjustifiable.
It is an international obligation of the host country to provide support and facilitation for the construction of diplomatic premises. Both China and the UK have plans to build new embassies in each other's capitals, and both sides should facilitate each other's efforts. We once again urge the UK to demonstrate sincerity in resolving the issue and approve China's planning application at an early date, said the Embassy's spokesperson.
For a long time some British politicians and media outlets have stirred controversy around the project, claiming it could pose an "espionage risk". The BBC claimed that Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel warned the approval would "put Britain at risk". However, analysts note that such accusations are unsupported and often veer into the absurd. 
Li Guanjie, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance & Area Studies said that if the embassy plan is approved and Starmer visits China next year as some British media reported, "new momentum" could emerge in China-UK relations.
The repeated delays reflect "deep-rooted contradictions" within Britain's China policy. "The UK asks to accelerate its own embassy project in China while indefinitely delaying China's lawful application in London – essentially politicising what should be a routine diplomatic facility issue," he said.
Recent disputes linked to spy allegations Li added, demonstrate the intensity of British domestic political maneuvering. While bilateral ties have warmed commercially, London remains cautious at the political level, seeking to maintain a "neither cold nor further deteriorating" equilibrium.
Global Times