Two men found guilty of spying on Hong Kong dissidents in UK for China
Written by: Michael Holden and Sam Tobin
LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) – Two men, including a British immigration officer, were found guilty in a London court on Thursday of spying for Hong Kong and eventually China and targeting prominent pro-democracy dissidents now in Britain.
Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 40, who worked for the UK Border Force, were found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service by surveilling targets between December 2023 and May 2024.
While these individuals, who are both Chinese and British citizens, denied the accusations, the Chinese embassy in London accused the UK of fabricating the accusations against them.
They are believed to be the first people in the UK to be found guilty of spying for China, according to local media reports. Wai and Yuen will be sentenced at a later date and face up to 14 years in prison.
A jury at London’s Old Bailey court failed to reach a verdict on another charge of “foreign interference” over the break-in on behalf of Hong Kong authorities at the northern England home of a woman accused of fraud in the city.
UK-CHINA TENSION IS GETTING TENSIONED WITH SPYING ALLEGATIONS
Relations between Britain and China have been strained since a national security crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 in Hong Kong, which was under British rule for 156 years before returning to Chinese rule almost three decades ago.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited China in January, but repeated accusations of espionage activities have been a stumbling block in efforts to improve bilateral relations.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told jurors that Yuen and Wai were tasked with carrying out “shadow police operations” for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and, ultimately, China.
Yuen was a retired Hong Kong police officer who worked at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London; As well as working for the immigration force, Wai was also a volunteer officer for the City of London Police.
Wai was convicted of misusing his job with the Border Force to search the home office’s computer database and gain access to details of foreign nationals.
Atkinson said the operation against the men involved spying on dissidents living in Britain, including activist Nathan Law, for whom the Hong Kong government had offered a HK$1 million ($127,700) reward for information leading to their whereabouts or capture.
Messages between Yuen, Wai and others showed them discussing plans to target activists referred to as “cockroaches” and spying on British political figures.
ACTIVIST SAYS CONVICTION CONFIRMED CHINA FEARS
“For years, members of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK have lived in fear,” Finn Lau, one of the targeted activists, said in a statement. he said. “Today’s conviction confirms that the fear was not paranoia. It was real.”
A third man accused of the same crimes as Yuen and Wai was found dead shortly after the trio were charged. Matthew Trickett, 37, a former British Royal Marine, worked as an immigration officer and private investigator. His death was not considered suspicious.
Last November, Britain’s MI5 security service warned MPs that Chinese agents were trying to gather information and influence activities in Westminster.
On the day Yuen and Wai’s trial began in March, British police said they had arrested three men, including an MP’s partner, on suspicion of aiding China’s foreign intelligence service.
In January, Britain approved Chinese plans to build Beijing’s largest embassy in Europe in London; This has led critics to accuse Starmer of prioritizing economic relations over security risks; but UK security officials said these risks could be reduced.
($1 = 7.8306 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sam Tobin; Editing by William James, William Maclean and Gareth Jones)
