LONDON – A London courtroom delivered guilty verdicts Thursday against two dual British-Chinese citizens accused of conducting surveillance operations on pro-democracy activists for Hong Kong and Chinese authorities.
The Old Bailey court convicted Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 40, on charges of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence operation spanning from December 2023 through May 2024.
However, jurors could not reach agreement on an additional charge alleging the pair engaged in “foreign interference” by breaking into a northern England residence of a woman wanted on fraud allegations by Hong Kong officials.
The convictions add to ongoing diplomatic friction between London and Beijing, with British officials repeatedly pointing to Chinese espionage activities as an obstacle to improving relations. Prime Minister Keir Starmer traveled to China in January as part of efforts to repair ties.
During court proceedings, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson described the defendants’ activities as “shadow policing operations” conducted for Hong Kong’s government and ultimately China’s benefit.
According to Atkinson, their mission involved monitoring dissidents who had relocated to Britain, including activist Nathan Law, who is subject to a HK$1 million bounty from Hong Kong authorities seeking information about his location or capture.
“They wanted to know where they were, where they live, what they are doing, who they are associating with, who they are communicating with and how they are doing that and those are the very things that these defendants were in the business of obtaining,” Atkinson told the jury.
Relations between Britain and China have deteriorated since Hong Kong implemented strict national security measures following the territory’s 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations, which sometimes turned violent. Hong Kong operated under British administration for 156 years before returning to Chinese control nearly three decades ago.
Chinese Embassy officials in London have dismissed the charges as fabricated against Yuen, who previously served as a Hong Kong police officer and worked at Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office in London, and Wai, employed by British Border Force and serving as a volunteer with City of London Police.
The court also found Wai guilty of abusing his Border Force position to illegally access the interior ministry’s computer systems.
Evidence presented to jurors included communications between Yuen, Wai and associates that prosecutors claimed revealed plans to monitor activists, whom they allegedly called “cockroaches,” and conduct surveillance on British political leaders.
A third defendant, Matthew Trickett, 37, a former Royal Marine who worked in immigration and private investigation, died after the group faced charges. Authorities determined his death was not suspicious.
