UK Convicts Border Official and Hong Kong Cop in First China Spying Case
The Foreign Office said the convictions exposed shadow policing and surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents, with jurors hearing the operation targeted activists and politicians.
- On Thursday, Security Minister Dan Jarvis announced Britain will summon the Chinese ambassador following the conviction of two men for spying on behalf of Hong Kong and China, stating such activity is "unacceptable on UK soil."
- A jury at London's Old Bailey court found 38-year-old Peter Wai, a former UK Border Force official, and 65-year-old Bill Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police superintendent, guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under national security laws.
- Targeting pro-democracy dissidents and politicians including Conservative Iain Duncan Smith, the pair conducted "shadow policing," with surveillance of activist Nathan Law dating to 2021 amid bounties of around 100,000.
- China's embassy rejected the accusations as an "abuse of the law," while a Hong Kong government spokesperson firmly opposed "unfounded allegations" against the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.
- Relations between Britain and China have remained strained since the 2019 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, a territory under British rule for 156 years before reverting to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
93 Articles
93 Articles
Two men convicted of spying for China in UK
Two men have been convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023 after a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation found they had been illegally gathering information on behalf of Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, targeting pro-democracy campaigners based in the United Kingdom, the UK Defence Journal understands. Chi Leung Wai, 40, of Staines-upon-Thames, and Chung Biu Yuen, 65, of Hackney, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on 7 Ma…
Two Men Become First Convicted Chinese Spies in UK History in Major National Security Case
Two men have been convicted in the United Kingdom's first-ever prosecution for spying on behalf of China after a court found they carried out surveillance on Hong Kong dissidents living in Britain as part of what prosecutors described as a 'shadow policing' operation. After a weeks-long trial, the jury at the Old Bailey Court found ex-police superintendent Chung Biu 'Bill' Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung 'Peter' Wai, 38, guilty of assisting a foreign in…
Updated at 9:42 a.m. with comment from China's Foreign Ministry.
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