Chinese in London protest at Malaysian embassy

About 100 Chinese people protested outside the Malaysian Embassy in London for four hours on Thursday afternoon, demanding that the Malaysian government continue searching for the missing MH370 flight.

Most of the protesters were Chinese students and tour guides in the city, who wish to help push forward the search efforts and press the Malaysian government to tell the truth behind MH370's fate.

The Chinese Weekly, a Chinese-language newspaper based in London, organized the protest. Bing He, editor in chief, said his team decided to do so because they believe not enough is being done in China and elsewhere in the world to make sure the voices of the families of MH370 passengers are heard.

The Chinese Weekly used its website and weibo accounts to spread information on the protest, which attracted extensive attention and interest from London's Chinese population, Bing said. "This shows such a protest is indeed needed," he said.

The protesters stood in a group across the street from the Malaysian Embassy in central London's Belgrave Square, and chanted "We want the truth." A leader of the protest walked over to the Malaysian embassy and handed a letter to a representative of the embassy, which outlined five requests.

The requests are, that the Malaysian government continue to search for the missing aircraft, that it disclose detailed search records it holds, continue to offer information to the missing passengers' families, continue to update the public on the search process, and appoint competent search workers.

Wang Yikang, 22, a third-year student at City University, majoring in electrical and electronic engineering, said he is angry because the Malaysian government has not made public all the information it holds on the search efforts for the aircraft.

"We want to know the details of the search, what happened and when, and at which locations, because the families have a right to know, and as Chinese we can sympathize with their feelings," Wang said.

Yu Hezhao, 27, a master's student in Finance at the University of East Anglia, said he hopes the protest puts more pressure on the Malaysian government to continue searching for the missing aircraft, because there is currently no evidence showing the aircraft has crashed.

"We want the Malaysian government to do more. I'm not sure how much impact this protest will have, but this is my way to contribute my effort," he said.

Xu Guangyan, a tour guide with the UK Chinese Tour Guide Association, said about 60 tour guides from the association came to the protest. "We all had to take time off work to come, but we did because it is for an important cause," he said.

Xu said he believes protesting in front of the Malaysian Embassy in the UK is a good idea because it puts pressure on the British government to help ensure the voices of the missing passengers' families are heard.

In Britain, the Malaysian government chose to text families of passengers on board MH370 to say the plane was assumed to have been lost with no survivors, a decision that was also criticized by some locals.

"The Malaysian government and airlines should have acted with more respect and sensitivity. They should have gathered the families together and presented the information to them before the media, or they should have even called the families personally, not sent a text," said Lucy Bell, who works in London.

"With the announcement by the prime minister imminent, they needed to let the families know before the world knew," Richard Lartey said via Facebook.