Landmark conviction sends clear message: Transnational repression will not be tolerated on British soil

Hong Kong Watch welcomes today’s conviction of Bill Yuen Chung-biu and Peter Wai Chi-leung, following a trial under the United Kingdom’s 2023 National Security Act. This landmark ruling demonstrates that transnational repression and foreign interference will not be tolerated by the British state, and represents a significant victory for the safety and security of the Hong Kong diaspora in the United Kingdom.

Peter Wai, 38, and Bill Yuen, 65, the office manager at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in London, were found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offence under the National Security Act. 

Since the imposition of Hong Kong’s National Security Law in 2020, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers have sought safe harbour from repression in the UK via the British National (Overseas) (BNO) humanitarian visa scheme. This includes a number of pro-democracy activists, who have been targeted by the Hong Kong government with HK$1 million (£93,646) bounties and intimidation against family members in Hong Kong. This trial has exposed the extent to which the Hong Kong authorities sought to extend the surveillance and harassment of these individuals to foreign soil. 

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) – a publicly-funded body with diplomatic protections – was not solely used for trade and cultural promotion, as per its official purpose, but as a platform for intelligence gathering and covert operations targeting pro-democracy activists and other members of the Hong Kong diaspora.

This is not an isolated case. It is part of a systemic and well-documented global pattern of transnational repression carried out by the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities against pro-democracy activists, journalists, academics, and ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs.

In response to this verdict, Hong Kong Watch urges the UK government to:

  • Announce a comprehensive review of consular privileges and immunities granted to the HKETO in London;

  • Assess whether the continued operation of the HKETO in London is consistent with the UK’s national security interests; 

  • Include the People’s Republic of China in the enhanced tier of the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).

Lord Alton of Liverpool, Patron of Hong Kong Watch and Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, said:

“I welcome this conviction as a landmark moment of accountability. It is a sobering reminder that the liberties we cherish in Britain must be actively defended, not merely assumed. Those who seek to extend intimidation beyond their own borders should be in no doubt that such conduct has no place here. The rule of law in this country remains firm, and it applies to all without fear or favour.”

Finn Lau, Hong Kong Watch Advisor and activist, said:

“For years, members of the Hong Kong diaspora in the United Kingdom have lived in fear. Today’s conviction confirms that fear was not paranoia. It was real. Agents of a foreign government used British institutions to spy on and intimidate Hong Kongers who came to the UK seeking safety. I urge the UK government to review the privileges and immunities granted to the HKETO in London, under the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Act of 1996, to reassure Hong Kongers in exile that their protection comes before political interests.”

 

倫敦經貿辦案罪成裁決揭跨國鎮壓威脅  香港監察促全面審查經貿辦特權

今天，英國法庭經審訊後裁定袁松彪（Bill Yuen）和衛志樑（Peter Wai）違反2023年《國家安全法》罪成，香港監察歡迎裁決。這項里程碑判決展示英國政府絕不容忍跨國鎮壓和外國干預行為，也是對保障在英港人社群安全的重大勝利。

衛志樑和香港駐倫敦經濟貿易辦事處行政經理袁松彪被裁定英國《國家安全法》下的「協助外國情報機構」罪名成立。

自2020年香港實施《國家安全法》以來，數十萬香港人透過BNO人道主義簽證計劃在英國尋求避風港以逃離鎮壓，當中包括多名民主活動人士。他們被香港政府以100萬港元（93,646英鎊）懸紅通緝，在港家人亦受到恐嚇。今次審訊揭露了港府試圖將對這些人士的監視和騷擾延伸至海外。

香港經貿辦是享有外交保護的公營機構，但並非按其官方宗旨僅用於貿易和文化推廣，反而針對民主活動人士和其他海外港人，充當情報收集和秘密行動的平台。

這並非個別事件。這是北京和香港當局針對民主活動人士、記者、學者及藏族和維吾爾族等少數民族展開的系統式且有案可查的環球跨國鎮壓行為。

因應今天的裁決，香港監察促請英國政府：

  • 宣布對香港駐倫敦經貿辦享有的領事特權和豁免權展開全面審查；

  • 評估香港駐倫敦經貿辦繼續運作是否符合英國國家安全利益；

  • 將中國納入英國「外國影響力登記計劃」進階級別。

香港監察贊助人、英國國會人權聯合委員會主席奧爾頓勳爵（Lord Alton of Liverpool）表示：

「我歡迎這項追究責任的里程碑裁決。裁決嚴正提醒我們，我們必須積極捍衛在英國珍視的自由，而非視之為理所當然。那些企圖將恐嚇行為延伸至境外的人應該清楚意識到，這種行為在英國毫無立足之地。英國法治依然堅固，並免於恐懼、不偏不倚地適用於所有人。」

香港監察顧問、香港社運人士劉祖廸（Finn Lau）表示：

「多年來，不少在英港人一直生活在恐懼之中。今天的裁決證明了這種恐懼並非妄想，而是真實存在的。外國政府的代理人利用了英國機構監視和恐嚇前來英國尋求安全的香港人。我敦促英國政府審視1996年《香港經濟貿易辦事處法案》賦予香港駐倫敦經貿辦的特權和豁免權，從而向流亡海外港人保證他們的安全高於政治利益。」

 

Photo: Mx. Granger, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

NewsEleanor LeeUK, uk, HKETO, special privilege