Hong Kong’s leader has hit out at “unwarranted allegations” by UK authorities after a local public officer was charged with spying, pledging to do his best to safeguard the rightful interests of the city’s overseas trade promotion offices.
British police earlier arrested Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, and two others on charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference between December 2023 and May of this year.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Tuesday that he had no memory of meeting Yuen, after a picture of the pair taken at a 2002 policing course graduation event went viral online.
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Yuen and Lee were among eight police officers photographed at the ceremony held in Hong Kong to celebrate finishing a self-learning course run by Australia’s Charles Sturt University.
Lee left the force in 2012 to serve as undersecretary for security under then leader Leung Chun-ying’s administration.
“The photo shows a class of graduates. I am one of them, and [Yuen] is reportedly also in this photo. My impression of this person is this photo,” Lee told reporters ahead of his weekly Executive Council meeting.
He also reiterated city authorities had asked the British consul general in Hong Kong to provide further details about the arrests, while “seriously demanding” the UK protect the legitimate rights and interests of the office manager.
“Any attempt to make unwarranted allegations against the [Hong Kong] government is unacceptable,” he said.
“We will of course do our best to protect the rightful interests and the rights that [the public officer] enjoyed as a result of legitimate officials working for the Hong Kong government and will urge all governments to respect the rightful duty of our [HKETOs] in their economies.”
Yuen, alongside 38-year-old Peter Wai Chi-leung and 37-year-old Matthew Trickett, has been accused of undertaking surveillance against dissidents from Hong Kong in breach of Britain’s National Security Act.
China’s embassy in London has said Beijing lodged stern representations with Britain over the case, urging it to immediately stop all “anti-China political manipulation” and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the country’s citizens in the UK.
Tom Tugendhat, Britain’s security minister, said on Monday that the National Security Act, passed last year to target threats from foreign states, was a game-changer in terms of the country’s ability to crack down on foreign intelligence services and hostile actors.
Hong Kong maintains 14 HKETOs outside mainland China, including the one in London and three in the United States. The offices enjoy some of the privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions.
More from South China Morning Post:
- UK move to prosecute 3 for allegedly spying for Hong Kong will sour ties between Britain and China, experts say
- Who are the 3 men charged in the UK with spying for Hong Kong?
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