Members of the Tibetan community in Britain were joined by opposition councillors at Tower Hamlets in raising their national flag outside the town hall against the wishes of the local authority.
Tory group leader Peter Golds defiantly displayed the flag on the town hall steps while Lib Dem Cllr Rabina Khan also made the point at Shadwell Gardens next to the Battle of Cable Street mural just a stone's throw from the old St George's town hall.
The ex-patriot community’s request to have the flag officially raised over the town hall was rejected in January. They were marking the 62nd anniversary of the March 10 uprising against Chinese occupation in protest at human rights violations levelled against the Chinese authorities.
Tibetans see Tower Hamlets as pivotal in their global campaign for recognition as it is the local planning authority for China’s new embassy complex at Tower Hill, on the site of the old Royal Mint.
Cllr Khan, who first proposed the flag raising in January, said at the time: “We must make clear where our own principles apply, with our long history of being home for people fleeing persecution who are now British citizens.”
The rejection upset Tibet campaigners because other local authorities like Waltham Forest in east London had raised the flag previously.
Free Tibet Campaign’s John Jones said: “March 10 is a key date in the Tibetan calendar that symbolises the peaceful struggle for freedom. There have been some promising signs including the British foreign secretary mentioning Tibet at the UN Human Rights Council, but we need more.”
The council, which is sensitive as the planning authority for the Chinese government shifting its embassy to Tower Hill, decided the Tibetan flag was not a good idea, even though previously it had hoisted the Palestinian flag when Lutfur Rahman was mayor.
“We would be overwhelmed if we accepted every request," a town hall spokesman said. "The significance of this act would be lost.”
The Tibet community is commemorating the Chinese invasion of 1959, when their Dalai Lama national spiritual leader was forced into exile.
A proposal was also made at the council earlier this year to rename roads close to proposed embassy complex to commemorate Chinese human rights activists, which would include “Tiananmen Square” to mark the 1989 student protests.
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