Two men were convicted under the National Security Act for aiding Chinese intelligence in tracking down Hong Kong dissidents in the United Kingdom.
| PULSE POINTS |
📺 DETAIL: Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, a former Border Force officer, and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, a former Hong Kong police officer, were sentenced to ten and eight years in prison, respectively. The two men were found guilty of assisting Chinese intelligence in tracking Hong Kong dissidents in the United Kingdom. Both men were convicted under the National Security Act at the Central Criminal Court in London on Thursday. Wai, who began working for Border Force in December 2020 at Heathrow Airport in London, used his access to Home Office databases to track Hong Kong dissidents, leading to an additional conviction of misconduct in public office. “Will not let any cockroaches in,” wrote Wai in a message to Eddie Ma, a former chief superintendent of Hong Kong Police’s Criminal Intelligence Bureau with connections to Chinese intelligence. Meanwhile, Yuan, who secured a job as the office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, acted as Wai’s go-between with the Chinese intelligence services. It was also revealed that Wai had served as a Metropolitan Police officer and in the Royal Navy. The pair’s activities included targeting prominent pro-democracy figures like Nathan Law, a Hong Kong activist with a HK$1m (~$127,589) bounty on his head. Wai managed to gain assistance from Matthew Trickett, a fellow Border Force officer who was later found dead in a suspected suicide. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “These convictions send a clear message that transnational repression, foreign interference, unauthorised surveillance, and attempts to operate outside the law will not be tolerated on British soil.” – Bethan David, Head of the Counter Terrorism Division at the Crown Prosecution Service. 🎯 IMPACT: The pair’s actions underscore how far China is willing to go in order to suppress dissidents, even those operating abroad. Wai’s arrest for spying on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was first reported in May. The conviction is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. Notably, it was reported back in 2023 that the British government was “doxxing” Chinese dissidents based in the United Kingdom, providing the CCP with their addresses and bank details under an international tax treaty between the two countries. 📺 FLASHBACK: Jimmy Lai, a prominent Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Hong Kong court in February, sparking bipartisan outcry from United States lawmakers. |
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