Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee speaks during a news conference, in Hong Kong, on May 14.Joyce Zhou/Reuters
Officials in Hong Kong and China have stridently denied claims of spying in Britain, after police in London arrested three men on national security charges this week.
The alleged spies, who appeared in court Monday, are charged with foreign interference and assisting a foreign intelligence service, which the Metropolitan Police in a statement identified as “that of Hong Kong.” At least eight other people were detained and questioned in relation to the investigation, which police said was continuing.
Those arrested were named as Yuen Chung-biu, 63, Peter Wai, 38, and Matthew Trickett, 37.
Mr. Yuen is an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, and a retired Hong Kong police officer. According to British media, Mr. Wai works as a border force agent and volunteer special constable with the City of London Police, while Mr. Trickett is an immigration officer.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee echoed comments by China’s embassy in the U.K. criticizing what he said was an “unwarranted accusation” of spying laid against Hong Kong by the British police.
“The Chinese side firmly rejects and strongly condemns the U.K.’s fabrication in this so-called case,” Mr. Lee said, adding his administration has demanded the U.K. government “provide full information” regarding the allegations.
Asked about a photo showing him alongside Mr. Yuen at a police graduation event in 2002, Mr. Lee – a former police officer and security chief – said he had no memory of meeting Mr. Yuen.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin expressed “grave concern” over the arrests and urged the British government “to earnestly protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the U.K.”
“These accusations are totally groundless and malicious slander, it is unacceptable,” said Mr. Wang on Tuesday. “China firmly opposes such despicable acts of political manipulation under the banner of judicial and national security.”
Hong Kong operates 14 Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) around the world, including in Toronto, with the stated aim of enhancing “global understanding of Hong Kong’s unique advantages,” advancing the city’s economic interests and promoting foreign investment in Hong Kong.
For a long time, these were uncontroversial, but they have come under scrutiny following an intense crackdown on civil society and rollback of rights in Hong Kong in recent years, and growing concerns around the world about alleged Chinese political interference.
Hong Kong Watch, a U.K.-based pressure group, warned in 2022 that in the wake of a Beijing-imposed national security law, which stripped Hong Kong of much of its supposed autonomy, the trade offices served as additional Chinese consulates, managing Hong Kong’s image overseas and publicly supporting the crackdown back home.
Exiled Hong Kong activists have long expressed concern that the offices, along with Chinese diplomatic missions, could be a potential avenue for the surveillance and harassment of overseas dissidents.
Both the 2020 national security law and an even more sweeping piece of related legislation adopted earlier this year are extraterritorial in nature, and police in Hong Kong have issued warrants and posted bounties for alleged fugitives living overseas.
Ian Ng, a co-founder of Vote4HK, which encourages Hong Kongers in the U.K. to engage in the country’s politics, said “transnational repression is one of the top issues if not the top issue” for the diaspora.
Describing the reaction to this week’s arrests, Mr. Ng said many Hong Kongers living in Britain were concerned but also in a sense relieved. “There’s a feeling that the U.K. government is finally doing something to stop the long arm of authoritarianism,” he added.
In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation this week, a man who identified himself as a former Chinese spy described infiltrating overseas dissident organizations and attempting to lure or pressure exiles back to China or to a third country where they could be arrested.
Canada has long been grappling with allegations of Chinese interference in the country’s politics, with an inquiry this month warning Beijing’s actions posed a serious and growing threat to the country’s electoral system and the public’s confidence in it. Diaspora communities were particularly at risk, said Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue, with foreign states seeking to “silence dissidents, amplify their own messages, control public opinion and sow discord.”
This was also the finding of a new report by Amnesty International, which said “Chinese and Hong Kong students studying abroad are living in fear of intimidation, harassment and surveillance as Chinese authorities seek to prevent them from engaging with ‘sensitive’ or political issues while overseas.”
Those arrested this week are only the latest to be accused of spying for China in the west.
Last month, police in Germany arrested three men strongly suspected of having worked for a Chinese secret service, federal prosecutors said. One was a former employee of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, a statutory body with more than 50 offices around the world.
Also in April, British prosecutors charged two men – one a former parliamentary researcher, first arrested in 2023 – with passing information to Beijing in breach of the Official Secrets Act, allegations China described as “completely fabricated.”