London · Full chronicle and history

Weeks after the Chinese government sanctioned Human Rights in China (HRIC), the London branch of Bank of East Asia returned a payment destined for a third-party vendor. Despite repeated inquiries, formal complaints, and in-person follow-ups by HRIC, the bank still refused to explain the reason.

【Follow-up · August 5, 2026】On August 5, China's Ministry of Commerce added the U.S.-based organization Human Rights in China (HRIC) to its countermeasure list, prohibiting organizations and individuals within China from conducting related transactions or cooperation with it.

According to Radio France Internationale, a London court recently issued a ruling in a massive fraud case involving China, which could lead the British government to retain some of the seized Bitcoin assets. The ruling has sparked a legal dispute over the ownership of this huge cryptocurrency fortune, involving a contest between China and the United Kingdom over cross-border asset recovery and judicial jurisdiction.

Several demonstrators staged a protest outside the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom on October 1, the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, showing solidarity with Hong Kong, Uyghurs, Tibet and Taiwan, and calling attention to Beijing's human rights policies.

On September 18, Moscow warned that certain British facilities inside Ukraine could be regarded as legitimate targets, threatening to spread beyond Ukraine; London subsequently condemned the threat.

On September 14, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released an investigative report, pointing out that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's London branch, under directives from headquarters, tied commercial business to national strategy, provided financing to sensitive enterprises, and bypassed compliance procedures to assist Huawei in transferring huge sums of money, reflecting the operational logic of Chinese state-owned banks where profit serves political objectives.

Macau on September 16 held the first closed-door hearing in a national security case, the prosecution of former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San on charges of subversion of state power. London lawyer Pollack, who represents his interests overseas, said the closed-door hearing was no different from a sham trial, and has submitted materials to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

On September 16, 2026, a gallery at the Natural History Museum in London that was closed for 80 years after being hit by a bomb during World War II reopened, with the museum selecting about 50 exhibits to show the relationship between humanity and the natural world.

According to an ICIJ investigation based on 4.8 million confidential documents, ICBC's London branch, at the behest of its Beijing headquarters, provided financing for Belt and Road projects and opened accounts for the daughter of Azerbaijan's dictator, Russian oligarchs, and companies linked to Belarus's military-industrial complex.

According to an ICIJ investigation, days after Meng Wanzhou was indicted by the United States in February 2019, ICBC's London branch urgently convened nine employees on a Saturday, bypassing internal compliance procedures to remit more than $1.3 billion in Huawei deposits back to China; compliance officers raised risk warnings, but the Beijing headquarters insisted on proceeding with the transaction.

On September 5, animal rights activists in London marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square to protest the brutal killing of a stray mother dog named "Wangwang" and her puppies in Jieyang, Guangdong, and called on the Chinese government to enact a unified anti-animal abuse law.

On September 5, 2026, multiple animal protection activists in London, UK held marches and rallies at Trafalgar Square and other locations, protesting and speaking out for Wangwang, a stray dog tortured to death in Jieyang, Guangdong, China, and calling on China to enact anti-animal-abuse laws.

In late September, a flight attendant died suddenly on an Air China flight from Beijing to London. The captain requested to return for medical treatment three times, but was refused by the company. Netizens reported the incident, criticizing the company for only caring about occupational health checks for resigned employees while ignoring the lives of current staff.

On August 2, 2026, Tibetans and human rights supporters in many parts of the world simultaneously launched a global day of action in New York, Dharamsala, Taipei, London and other places, holding coffin-carrying marches and candlelight vigils to mourn the Tibetan Lobsang Rangzen, who died after setting himself on fire.

The UK government's permission for China to build a super-embassy in central London has sparked serious national security concerns regarding the CCP's potential use of the site to embed spy networks and surveillance equipment.

On August 1, 2026, rallies were held in Hyde Park, London, UK; promotional videos were played on outdoor big screens at shopping malls in Taipei, Taiwan; and Hong Kong residents also put up posters on street windows, with multiple locations coordinating in support of the Jieyang dog slaughter incident.

On June 18, a judge in London sentenced 66-year-old Yuan Songbiao to eight years in prison on charges of assisting a foreign intelligence agency; 41-year-old former British border force officer Wei Zhiliang received a total of ten years for the same charge and misconduct in public office. The two were accused of carrying out espionage for China.

Three British men are under investigation for allegedly violating the 2023 National Security Act by assisting Chinese intelligence agencies, including David Taylor, the husband of a Labour MP.

In March this year, British police arrested three men on suspicion of assisting China's external intelligence agency.

The UK Labour Government has officially approved China's construction of a large embassy at the Royal Mint Court mint near the Tower of London, sparking concerns among overseas dissidents regarding intelligence gathering and intimidation.

The Chinese Communist Party spent 255 million pounds to purchase the former site of the Royal Mint in central London, planning to build Europe's largest super embassy.

In 2013, a high-frequency trading system at a London venue produced a large number of spoofed orders that never executed; the relevant orders were flagged as market data anomalies and triggered a market flash crash.

On August 7, 2012, in the men's 110 metres hurdles heats at the London Olympics, Liu Xiang fell at the first hurdle. He was diagnosed after the race with a ruptured Achilles tendon and never competed in an official event again.

Geely completed the acquisition of Volvo for $1.8 billion, with local state-owned capital from Daqing and Jiading, Shanghai, participating in the funding and securing commitments for industrial bases.