In the food court of Oriental City, an Asian-themed mall in the northwest London suburb of Colindale, a banner accuses the owners of 'ethnic cleansing'.
The banner was erected by a group of mostly Chinese residents and shopkeepers protesting against the proposed redevelopment of the shopping centre. Protest leaders hope the community's political activism will transcend this one issue.
The campaign suffered a setback on Tuesday when the town council in the borough of Brent gave the developers planning permission despite the opposition. The Brent Council's approval paves the way for a #200 million (HK$3.1 billion) redevelopment of the site, which opened 13 years ago as a Japanese-themed mall.
But community leaders are not about to give up. Oriental City Tenants' Association chairman Liu Yip-fei said they would take legal action if necessary.
'We're going to meet our legal team, our barrister and our planning consultant, we're going to lobby [London mayor] Ken Livingstone, and afterwards we may seek a judicial review,' he said. 'We have found we cannot get justice in Brent.'
It is rare for Britain's politically placid Chinese population to sign petitions, wave banners and take their complaints to the mayor. But community leaders are using the case to organise and meet politicians to get Chinese more involved in British politics.
Mr Liu, who owns a restaurant, bar and food court outlet in the mall, called an 'awareness meeting' five days before the council vote. About 200 people - mostly senior citizens and housewives - turned up.