Two men have been found guilty of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of both Hong Kong and the Chinese Communist Party in the UK. Following this verdict, the UK Secretary of State for Security Affairs, Dan Jarvis, stated on Thursday (May 7) that the British Foreign Office will summon the Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang to make it clear to the Chinese side that such behavior is unacceptable.
“These individuals representing activities undertaken by China (the CCP) have violated our sovereignty and cannot be tolerated,” Jarvis said, adding, “We will continue to hold the Chinese government (CCP) accountable and directly challenge their actions which endanger the safety of the British people.”
“Therefore, the Foreign Office will summon the Chinese Ambassador to explicitly state that engaging in such activities on British soil, whether in the past, present, or future, is unacceptable,” he said.
In a court ruling on Thursday (May 7) at the Old Bailey in London, 65-year-old Chung Biu Yuen (Bill Yuen) and 40-year-old Chi Leung “Peter” Wai were convicted. Both men hold dual Chinese and British nationalities.
They were found guilty of violating the National Security Law by engaging in espionage activities on behalf of Hong Kong and even the CCP in the UK, helping the CCP monitor well-known democratic dissenters living in the UK. This is one of the first large-scale prosecutions conducted under the UK’s recently expanded National Security Law.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson informed the jury that Yuen and Wai’s mission was to conduct “shadow policing operations” for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and even the CCP. This case involves espionage activities against current dissenters residing in the UK, including activist Joshua Wong. The Hong Kong government offered a reward of 1 million Hong Kong dollars to obtain information leading to their arrest.
Since the Chinese Communist Party suppressed the Hong Kong democracy protests in 2019 citing national security reasons, UK-China relations have remained tense.
In March this year, three men were arrested in the UK on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities for the CCP. This is part of the UK’s counter-terrorism investigation under the National Security Law.