Far-Left Labour party supporters have been labelled 'useful idiots' for spreading Chinese Communist Party propaganda in Britain.
Hard line activists loyal to former leader Jeremy Corbyn have joined forces with pro-Beijing groups in a bid to sanitise the totalitarian state's image.
The coalition of left-wing campaigners and Chinese activists blame 'aggressive Government statements against China' for driving a spike in anti-Asian racism, claiming it is leading to a 'new cold war'.
But critics say this is just a sinister smokescreen designed to dismiss all criticism of Beijing's brutal regime.
Among the hard-left activists who have thrown their weight behind these pro-Beijing organisations is Fiona Edwards, a senior member in the Stop the War Coalition
Last week, a rally against anti-Asian hate descended into violence when Hong Kongers challenged the pro-CCP organisers.
Shocking footage from the brawl showed a thug allegedly stamping on a defenceless man's head.
Tory MP Tim Loughton, acting chair of the Home Affairs Committee and a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: 'For a long time it's been suspected that the Chinese Communist Party deploys useful idiots on the extreme left to defend their cause.
'And straight out of the CCP playbook, they will try to caricature any criticism of the Chinese government as Sinophobic or say it's fomenting war, which of course is entirely bogus.'
Hong Kongers, many of whom have fled persecution in their homeland, say they have been harassed, intimidated and assaulted after standing up to these groups in the UK.
Simon Cheng, a former British consulate worker in Hong Kong who claims he was tortured in China, said: 'Such behaviour should not be tolerated in any civilised society. These egregious acts only reveal the true nature of these groups that stand for nothing to do with 'human rights' or 'anti-racism' as they claim, but for hypocritical and oppressive regimes.'
Dr Ping Hua (pictured), a senior academic at the University of Southampton, is a frequent apologist for the alleged atrocities carried out by the Chinese Government
Ex-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was due to speak at the rally but said that he pulled out at the last minute after he was made aware that some of the organisers supported the draconian security laws in Hong Kong.
Among the hard-left activists who have thrown their weight behind these pro-Beijing organisations is Fiona Edwards, a senior member in the Stop the War Coalition.
In addition to speaking at Saturday's rally, she has previously tweeted that the genocide of Uighur Muslims in
