BEIJING SLAMS U.K. AFTER THREE CHARGED WITH SPYING FOR HK
Hong Kong trade office employee among trio accused of carrying out surveillance on city activists
Three men – including a Hong Kong public officer – have been charged in Britain with conducting spying activities by allegedly carrying out surveillance against dissidents from the city, prompting strong condemnation from Beijing which called the case “pure fabrication”.
In a strongly worded statement, the Chinese embassy in London yesterday said that Beijing had lodged stern representations with Britain over the case, urging it to immediately stop all kinds of “anti-China political manipulation” and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the country’s citizens in the UK.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the British pure fabrication of so-called cases and unreasonable accusations against the Hong Kong SAR government,” it said.
“The UK arbitrarily harasses, arrests and detains Chinese citizens in the UK under the pretext of justice and national security. This is a serious provocation to China and a serious violation of the basic norms of international relations.”
The three suspects, including Bill Yuen Chung-biu, 63, who serves as an office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, were granted bail about 30 minutes after they appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Yuen, Peter Wai Chi-leung, 38, and Matthew Trickett, 37, were charged with two offences under the National Security Act passed last year to target threats from foreign states. Yuen and Wai both have dual British and Chinese nationality.
They have been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference between December 2023 and May this year. The defendants had to surrender their passports and the case was adjourned until May 24.
They were also ordered to refrain from any direct or indirect contact with witnesses. They are required to report to police the model of any phones they possess and are prohibited from deleting their internet history. Police also have the right to inspect the defendants’ phones upon request.
Two representatives from the HKETO in London, Deputy Director-General Amy Wong Hoiling and Assistant Director-General Stanley Woo Man-hong, attended the court hearing.
Beijing’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong also criticised the British move, saying that the UK had ignored basic human rights protections.
“This not only violates the spirit of the rule of law, but is also naked political manipulation. Its sinister intentions of interfering in Hong Kong affairs and shielding anti-China elements and disrupting Hong Kong are clearly exposed,” a spokesman said.
Following the court hearing, a Hong Kong government spokesman last night said it had demanded Britain provide full details of relevant information of the alleged matter.
“The HKSAR government has seriously demanded the UK side fairly handle the matter, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office’s office manager who was alleged to be involved, and ensure that the normal work of the Economic and Trade Office is not affected,” he said.
It is understood that Wai, a City of London Police special constable, is also the director and founder of D5 Security, a firm that advertises itself as an independent private security company based in Britain, providing security and staffing services for individuals, families and businesses based in Britain, the mainland and Hong Kong.
Trickett is an officer of the Immigration Enforcement agency and also a director of MTR Consultancy, a firm primarily focused on security, surveillance and private investigations.
The trio are accused of breaching the law by undertaking “information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out UK-related activities” between last December 20 and May 2 this year.
They are also alleged to have committed the foreign interference offence by engaging in prohibited conduct – forcing entry into a UK residence, being reckless as to whether the act would have an interference effect – on May 1.
It is not clear whom the trio were allegedly spying on. But it is understood that former student leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who has lived in the UK since 2020 when Beijing imposed the national security law on the city, could have been among their alleged targets.
He is one of 13 overseas activists with HK$1 million bounties placed on their heads by Hong Kong police for information leading to their arrest for allegedly violating the national security law.
British police said the charges laid on the trio were not linked to a separate investigation involving Russia, adding that “while these offences are concerning, we do not believe there to be any wider threat to them”.
Police added arrests were made and searches carried out across England as part of the investigation. Seven men and one woman who were not charged were released from custody.
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the government’s key decision-making Executive Council, said she expected solemn representations would be lodged against Britain by Beijing and the Hong Kong administration. She said the government should offer legal help to the officer involved.
Assisting a foreign intelligence service was newly created as part of espionage offences in the National Security Act and carries a maximum 14-year prison sentence or a fine, or both. The foreign interference offence also carries the same penalty.
There are 14 HKETOs outside mainland China including three in the United States and one in London.
British authorities are prosecuting three men for allegedly breaching the National Security Act 2023 by assisting an overseas intelligence service and engaging in foreign interference. The spotlight has fallen on defendant Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office in London. The Post takes a look at the three’s alleged offences and backgrounds. Who is Bill Yuen?
The 63-year-old office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office is understood to be a retired Hong Kong police officer.
According to the office’s organisation chart, the administration unit’s office manager is named “Bill C B Yuen”.
The defendant is alleged to have contravened the National Security Act 2023 by agreeing to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out United Kingdomrelated activities.
The three allegedly committed the crime between December 20 last year and May 2.
The prosecution also laid a foreign interference charge on Yuen and the other two men. They were suspected of forcing entry into a UK residential address on May 1, being reckless as to whether the prohibited conduct would have an effect of interference.
It is understood the 38-year-old defendant is a City of London Police special constable and the director of D5 Security Limited.
British companies registry documents show a person named Wai Chi-leung is the director of D5 Security Limited, a private firm based in the country.
According to the company’s website, the firm provides services for high-net-worth individuals, families and businesses that are based in the
United Kingdom, mainland China and Hong Kong, and the company also develops tailor-made security plans. It also says most of the staff have “extensive backgrounds in the British military and police”, claiming their vast training and experience allows them to offer professional services to wealthy clients.
The director was said to have over 20 years’ experience in the British military, police and private security sector.
The website said his knowledge, experience and leadership could resolve security concerns at all levels, while he had a vast network of professionals able to provide “exclusive and discreet services” to clients.
According to Webb-site.com, which examines Hong Kong corporate governance and is run by David Webb, the director also carried the same title at six other companies.
It is understood the 37-year-old defendant was an immigration enforcement officer and also a director of MTR Consultancy, a firm primarily focused on security, surveillance and private investigations.
The United Kingdom’s companies registry documents show a company called MTR Consultancy Limited has a director named “Matthew Peter Trickett”, a British security consultant born in 1987. The company’s nature of business was “private security activities”.
According to the company registry, another Briton named “Matthew Peter Trickett” who was born in 1987 and has a different correspondence address, was a former director of D5 Consultancy Services Limited.