The UK border authorities have conducted long interrogations on some Chinese citizens and seized personal electronic devices, including mobile phones.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post on October 20, multiple Chinese citizens, including members of trade delegations, tourists, and visitors, have faced lengthy delays at the UK border, subjected to questioning by UK border enforcement officers, with their phones and other devices confiscated.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK stated that UK border officials claimed these actions were carried out in accordance with the UK’s 2019 Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act. China has expressed serious concerns over this and has raised the issue with the UK.
The Chinese Embassy’s statement came about a week before Ken McCallum, the head of the UK’s Security Service (MI5), mentioned (Communist) China in the annual threat assessment, accusing the CCP of engaging in “espionage activities, coercion, or interference in democratic processes.”
On September 30, MI5 issued its first-ever “espionage alert,” publicly citing the Chinese company “China General Technology Research Institute” (CGTRI), accusing it of secretly acting as a front for the Chinese state security apparatus, obtaining sensitive technologies from UK universities and laboratories under the guise of funding academic research.
Last Thursday, McCallum made a rare public appearance and told reporters, “Is the (Communist) Chinese state actor a threat to UK national security? The answer is obviously yes, and it’s a threat every single day.” He revealed that within the past week, the agency had taken intervention measures to counter threats from Beijing.
McCallum pointed out that Beijing’s intervention activities include cyber espionage, theft of technological secrets, and “attempting to covertly interfere in public life in the UK.”
The Chinese Embassy in the UK denied McCallum’s accusations, calling them fabrications.
Analysts believe that the systematic theft of Western technology by the Chinese regime is the fundamental reason why Chinese individuals are increasingly facing widespread suspicion.