Chinese ambassador summoned to Foreign Office after three men charged with 'spying for Hong Kong'
14 May 2024, 13:52
The Chinese Ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office following allegations of "foreign interference on UK soil".
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Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron ordered the summoning of Ambassador Zheng Zeguang after three men were charged under the National Security Act for allegedly assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service.
Ambassador Zheng met a senior official at the Foreign Office on Tuesday morning.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the department had been "unequivocal in setting out that the recent pattern of behaviour directed by China against the UK including cyber attacks, reports of espionage links and the issuing of bounties is not acceptable".
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Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, appeared in court on Monday charged with foreign interference and assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Yuen, also known as Billy Yuen, is a retired Hong Kong police officer who now works as a Hong Kong trade official based in London.
Wai is a UK Border Force officer and Trickett is an Immigration Enforcement officer who served for six years as a Royal Marine.
They are accused of information gathering, hostile surveillance, acts of deception and forcing entry into a UK residential address, with the primary targets of this activity said to be members of the Hong Kong diaspora based in the UK.
The trio did not enter pleas and were bailed until May 24, when they are due to appear at the Old Bailey.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy described the charges as a "fabrication" and an "unwarranted accusation" against Hong Kong.
In March, the Government accused China of conducting a cyber espionage campaign against politicians and the Electoral Commission.
News that the Ministry of Defence had been subject to a cyber attack last week also prompted speculation that Beijing was responsible, but the Government is yet to attribute the attack to a specific actor.
The embassy spokesperson added: "For some time now, the UK has staged a series of accusations against China, including those on 'China spies' and cyber attacks. All those accusations are groundless and slanderous.
"The British side has also wantonly harassed, arrested and detained Chinese citizens in the UK under the pretext of judicial and national security. This constitutes a grave provocation against China and severely contravenes the basic norms governing international relations."
They also accused the UK of "harbouring ... wanted criminals" and said Beijing was "firmly resolved in fighting anti-China elements seeking to disrupt Hong Kong".
