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China denounced convictions of two men in the United Kingdom for spying on Hong Kong dissidents as a “political farce” on Friday, accusing the country of “erroneous practices.”
A London jury found the pair, a retired Hong Kong policeman and a former UK Border Force official, guilty on Thursday of assisting a foreign intelligence service following a weeks-long trial.
The high-profile case exposed how ex-police superintendent Bill Yuen, 65, and 40-year-old Peter Wai conducted “shadow policing” operations on British soil targeting Hong Kong dissidents and exiled pro-democracy protesters.
Asked about the two convictions at a regular news conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that “China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this.”
“The United Kingdom’s arrest and prosecution of Chinese citizens in the United Kingdom on groundless charges, its abuse of the law and manipulation of judicial procedures for conviction, its blatant support for anti-China and Hong Kong-destabilising elements and its unreasonable accusations and smears against China are a typical political farce,” Lin said.
“We urge the UK to correct its erroneous practices…and safeguard the hard-won positive momentum of China-UK relations,” he added.
‘Political move’
The pair’s activities were exposed in May 2024 when UK police foiled an alleged bid to snatch a former Hong Kong resident from her flat in the northern county of Yorkshire, the court heard.
Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers, including democracy activists wanted by Chinese authorities, have moved to Britain since the Asian financial hub enacted a National Security Law in mid-2020.
Britain’s Labour government has sought to reset relations but has faced some domestic opposition.
An earlier statement on Thursday by an unnamed Chinese embassy spokesperson in London said that Yuen’s conviction in particular “is nothing but a political move of abusing the law and manipulating the judicial process by the UK side.”
The “sole purpose” of the decision is to “embolden those anti-China elements who are hiding in the UK and bent on destabilising Hong Kong and to smear the Chinese government,” the statement added, calling it a “so-called verdict.”
“We deplore (the conviction of Yuen) and have made solemn representations with the UK side,” the Chinese embassy statement said, calling on London to “immediately stop the anti-China political manipulation.”
The statement warned that China will “take necessary measures to firmly safeguard (its) interests.”
Additional sources • AFP
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