Tensions rise between UK and China after three charged with ‘spying for Hong Kong’

London: China’s ambassador has been summoned by Britain’s Foreign Office amid rapidly deteriorating diplomatic relations between the two nations after three men were arrested and charged with assisting Hong Kong’s intelligence service.

In a meeting with Zheng Zeguang on Tuesday, British officials – on instruction of Foreign Secretary David Cameron – condemned a “recent pattern of behaviour” by China, including two malicious cyber campaigns that targeted parliamentarians and Britain’s Electoral Commission.

Chi Leung Wai and Chung Biu Yuen leaving Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London. Credit: AP

The heightened tensions coincided with the head of Britain’s signals intelligence agency, Anne Keast-Butler, declaring that the Chinese government posed a “genuine and increasing cyber risk to the UK”.

Keast-Butler told a security conference in Birmingham on Tuesday that while the cyber threats from Russia and Iran were “globally pervasive” and “aggressive” respectively, China was her agency’s top priority.

“China poses a genuine and increasing cyber risk to the UK,” she said, calling the country “the epoch-defining challenge”.

“In cyberspace, we believe that the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] irresponsible actions weaken the security of the internet for all. China has built an advanced set of cyber capabilities and is taking advantage of a growing commercial ecosystem of hacking outfits and data brokers at its disposal.”

UK spy chiefs have warned that China is poised to wreak havoc with an “epoch-defining” cyberattack on the West.Credit: Pixhall / Alamy Stock Photo

The government has accused “Chinese state-affiliated actors” recently of cyberattacks on the electoral watchdog, MPs critical of the Chinese government and the records of thousands of British military personnel.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said that during the meeting with Zeguang officials were “unequivocal in setting out that the recent pattern of behaviour directed by China against the UK including cyberattacks, reports of espionage links and the issuing of bounties is not acceptable”.

China has offered overseas rewards of about £100,000 ($190,157) for information leading to the arrests of five pro-democracy activists including Simon Cheng, a former UK consulate employee in Hong Kong who was granted asylum in London in 2020.

Following the meeting, the Chinese embassy hit back saying ambassador Zheng had in turn made “further serious representations” to the UK on its “wrongful behaviour” including its “unwarranted accusation against the [Hong Kong] government”.

“He was unequivocal that the UK must stop anti-China political manoeuvring and not go further down the dangerous path of jeopardising China-UK relations,” the statement said.

On Monday, a Heathrow Border Force officer appeared in court alongside a Hong Kong trade official and a former member of the British military charged with spying on pro-democracy activists in Britain and forcing their way into a residential address.

Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, and Matthew Trickett, 37, are accused of agreeing to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service between December 20 last year May 2.

All three also allegedly engaged in “foreign interference” which involved “forcing entry into a UK residential address” on May 1. Both charges were brought under the National Security Act. They were granted bail and will appear at the Old Bailey on May 24.

Hong Kong has called on UK officials to provide “full details” of the charges. China, under which Hong Kong operates as a special administrative region, has also refuted the allegations that the city’s intelligence service was involved.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told parliament last week that the attack had been carried out by a “malign actor”. He did not confirm who was behind it, but several media outlets have reported that Beijing was the culprit.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week said the UK faced ongoing threats from “an axis of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China”.

Beijing officials have also repeatedly denied the British accusations, calling them “groundless and slanderous” in what has become a tit-for-tat series of allegations and denials.

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