UK police have charged three men under the local National Security Act, accusing them of assisting a Hong Kong intelligence agency and aiding foreign interference.
According to a news release from the London Metropolitan Police on the morning of May 13th, 11 people were arrested under the local National Security Act 2023, with three of them facing charges. The accused individuals include 38-year-old Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 37-year-old Matthew Trickett, and 63-year-old Chung Biu Yuen.
Chung Biu Yuen shares the same English name as the executive manager, Yuan Songbiao, of the Hong Kong government’s office for trade and economic affairs in London.
The three defendants appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 13th for trial. They are accused of aiding a foreign intelligence agency, violating sections 3(1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023, and engaging in foreign interference, in violation of sections 13(2) and (7) of the same law.
Chief Commander Dominic Murphy of the Counter Terrorism Unit at the London Metropolitan Police stated, “This operation is unrelated to recent counterterrorism investigations involving Russia.”
He added that as part of this investigation, numerous individuals across England were arrested and searches were conducted. Murphy emphasized the critical role of the counter-terrorism network led by London in preventing such activities and highlighted close cooperation with the Crown Prosecution Service since the inception of the investigation.
Local authorities reported the arrest of eight men and one woman in Yorkshire on May 1st, followed by the arrest of one man each in London and Yorkshire the next day, with seven men and one woman being released on May 10th.
According to the indictment from British courts, one of the defendants, Chung Biu Yuen, is a retired Hong Kong police officer holding dual Chinese and British citizenship. The official website of the Hong Kong Office for Trade and Economic Affairs in London lists Yuen as the executive manager, ranking as the office’s third-in-command and directly involved in its internal operations.
The indictment alleges that Yuen, in his capacity as executive manager of the Hong Kong Office for Trade and Economic Affairs in London, “seems to also have the authority to collect intelligence on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency” and tasked two other defendants with conducting “hostile activities,” targeting suspected Hong Kong residents in the UK, including information gathering, surveillance, fraudulent activities, and unauthorized entry into residences.
The charges specifically mention the involvement of the three accused individuals in monitoring individuals such as Nathan Law, Joshua Wong, and Jeffrey Ngo. The activities of the assigned two defendants were funded directly from the bank account of the Hong Kong Office for Trade and Economic Affairs, with receipts addressed to be sent to the Hong Kong office in London.
Regarding the incident, the Hong Kong government released a statement last night, indicating that the Chinese Embassy in the UK has issued a statement on the matter and lodged a formal protest with the British authorities. The Hong Kong SAR government has requested the UK government to provide detailed information related to the alleged incident and is awaiting a response.
In its assessment report for the second half of 2023 released on April 15th, the UK government condemned the implementation of the National Security Law by Beijing in Hong Kong. British Foreign Secretary Cameron stated in the report, “We will not tolerate any foreign powers attempting to intimidate, harass, or harm individuals within the UK. The National Security Law of the CCP is not effective in the UK. We have no effective extradition agreements with Hong Kong or China. I want to assure our esteemed Hong Kong community in the UK: you are safe here.”
Earlier on April 22nd, the German government also arrested three individuals suspected of engaging in espionage activities for China. The South China Morning Post previously reported that one of the individuals had worked for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. A spokesperson for the Trade Development Council responded by stating that a former employee was being investigated for personal activities, and the council was not the subject of the investigation, further noting that it would be inappropriate to comment further as the case remained under investigation.
Wu Wenxin, a board member of the International Human Rights Association and a China expert based in Germany, believes that the arrest of Chinese spies by the German security services is not unprecedented, but the high-profile nature of this case, extensively reported in the German media, is notable. This instance is unique in that it involves Germans acting as spies for China, driven by personal ambition for fame and fortune.
He asserts that the spy arrests in Germany involving individuals related to Hong Kong reflect negatively on the region, suggesting that Germany may view Hong Kong differently in the future, albeit in a detrimental manner.
Furthermore, Wu Wenxin argues that the Communist Party’s motivations behind such actions are not economic but rather aimed at strengthening its military through acquiring sensitive technologies, a method that is increasingly challenging to pursue.