The British Foreign Ministry on May 9 stated that it had summoned the Chinese ambassador after a London court convicted two men, including a former British immigration officer, of spying for the Chinese communist regime.
The Chinese ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, was called to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office on May 8 for an official reprimand, according to a British government statement.
The UK Foreign Office stated that it had made clear that “any attempts by foreign states to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities” on British soil will not be tolerated and that such activities constitute “a serious breach of the UK’s sovereignty.”
“We will continue to use the full range of tools available to protect our security and hold China to account for actions which undermine our safety and democratic values,” it stated.
Wai was also convicted of misconduct in a public office in relation to misusing the UK Interior Ministry’s systems to track targets while working for the British Border Force at London Heathrow airport. Prosecutors said Wai used his access to the UK government’s databases to conduct unauthorized searches while off duty and improperly shared the personal information obtained.
Helen Flanagan, head of counterterrorism policing in London, which led the investigation into the high-profile case, called the pair’s activists “both sinister and chilling.”
“Our investigation found they were spying for the Hong Kong authorities, targeting UK-based pro-democracy campaigners,” Flanagan said in a May 7 statement following the conviction.
Messages on Yuen’s phone indicated that their surveillance of Nathan Law, a former Hong Kong lawmaker and a prominent pro-democracy advocate, had begun as early as 2021, according to prosecutors.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK confirmed its ambassador met with a British Foreign Office official on May 8. According to a Chinese summary of the meeting, Zheng protested the London court’s ruling and called on the UK side to stop what he called “anti-China political manipulation.”
In response to the May 7 ruling, the London-based Hong Kong Labor Rights Monitor called on the UK government to urgently review the status and privileges granted to HKETO, including whether its current diplomatic privileges remain appropriate.
“We cannot allow the Hong Kong authorities to disguise political repression as trade promotion, nor permit authoritarian ‘long-arm repression’ to extend into free societies,” the group said in a May 7 statement.