On Thursday, June 18th, in a court in London, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London (HKETO), Bill Yuen, and a member of the UK Border Force named Peter Wai, were formally convicted on charges of aiding the Chinese Communist Party in collecting intelligence and violating the UK’s National Security Law of 2023.
The judge at the Old Bailey in London found both men guilty, sentencing Yuen to 8 years in prison and Wai to 10 years. Wai was additionally convicted of misconduct in public office for using his authority to gather information on dissenting individuals moving from Hong Kong to the UK.
Yuen, aged 66, and Wai, aged 41, were convicted by a jury last month for covertly surveilling and collecting intelligence on several pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong residing in the UK between December 2023 and May 2024, thereby assisting foreign intelligence agencies.
According to reports from Reuters, they are the first individuals in the UK to be convicted of engaging in espionage activities for the Chinese Communist Party since the implementation of the National Security Law in 2023.
Yuen, who had a background in the Hong Kong Police Force serving as a superintendent for about 37 years before retiring, relocated to the UK to reunite with his family in 2015. He was appointed as the Executive Director of the HKETO in London in August of the same year and was regarded as the third in command at the office.
Wai held multiple roles, operating a private security company in addition to his part-time positions as an officer of the UK Border Force and a special constable with the London Metropolitan Police before his arrest. During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Wai seriously abused his authority within the Border Force by illegally accessing the UK Home Office’s computer database to unlawfully search for detailed sensitive information on specific targets and their families.
Both individuals held dual citizenship of China (Hong Kong) and the UK, and they denied the prosecution’s charges throughout the trial. In response, the Chinese Embassy in London strongly denounced the case as a political manipulation through the misuse of the law.
The presiding judge, Bobbie Cheema-Grubb, emphasized in court the ongoing challenges faced by the UK due to foreign governments and their agents engaging in continuous, often covert, infiltration and interference in the country.
Cheema-Grubb further elaborated, stating, “Modern foreign intelligence activities are not limited to traditional espionage targeting military or government secrets. Today, it is more likely to involve surveillance, intelligence gathering, intimidation, and targeted tracking of activists and individuals seeking legal protection in their own country.” She then sentenced Yuen to 8 years and Wai to 10 years in prison.
“Hai…