China voices serious concern over spying charges against Chinese citizens in UK
China on Tuesday voiced serious concern over the arrest and prosecution of the Chinese citizens and strongly urge the UK to earnestly protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the UK.
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remarks during a routine press conference on Tuesday on reports about three men who were charged with allegedly “assisting Hong Kong’s foreign intelligence service in Britain.”
The Chinese Embassy in the UK, the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the HKSAR government all voiced the strong condemnation against the UK’s act.
Zheng Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK, met with officials from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Tuesday, lodging stern representations against the UK’s unfounded accusations against Chinese citizens, according to the Chinese Embassy.
Zheng rejected the UK’s explanations on the spot and warned the UK to cease its political manipulation and not to proceed further down the dangerous path of damaging China-UK relations.
Some experts said the UK’s latest move shows that the UK government seems addicted to hyping up the so-called Chinese espionage, and its arrest of three people, including Chinese citizens, under the pretext of monitoring “pro-democracy” activities, aimed to warn against harassing individuals “protected by the UK.” Such acts will cause a further deterioration in China-UK relations, warned experts, who also noted that if the local court ultimately convicts the three individuals, it could lead to a diplomatic incident.
The three men are charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service between December 2023 and May 2024 by “agreeing to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception” in Britain, according to the charges brought in court, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
British politicians have recently started a fresh round of “China threat” hype with the focus on cybersecurity and “Chinese spying,” experts said.
Gao Jian, director of the Center for British Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said that in fact, the UK’s entire stance on issues related to Hong Kong is still influenced by a lingering colonial-era mentality, Gao said. Within the UK’s political atmosphere, there is still a deep-seated cultural attachment to the UK’s colonial past, Gao noted.