UPDATE 1-Two men found guilty of spying on Hong Kong dissidents in UK for China

Two men were found guilty in a London court ​on Thursday of spying on behalf of Hong Kong ​and ultimately China, targeting prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in ‌Britain. Chung ​Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 40, both dual Chinese and British nationals, were convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service between December 2023 and May 2024.

Two men were found guilty in a London court ​on Thursday of spying on behalf of Hong Kong ​and ultimately China, targeting prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in ‌Britain.

Chung ​Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 40, both dual Chinese and British nationals, were convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service between December 2023 and May 2024. A jury at London's Old Bailey ‌court was unable to reach a verdict on another charge of conducting "foreign interference" by forcing entry on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities into the home in northern England of a woman who has been accused of fraud in the city.

London has repeatedly accused Beijing of espionage activities, a ‌stumbling block in attempts to patch up relations which saw British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visit China in January. 'SHADOW POLICE OPERATIONS'

Prosecutor Duncan ‌Atkinson told jurors Yuen and Wai had been tasked to carry out "shadow policing operations" for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and ultimately China. Atkinson said this had involved spying on dissidents now resident in Britain, including activist Nathan Law, for whom the Hong Kong government had issued bounties of HK$1 million for information leading to their whereabouts ⁠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 said. There have been tensions between Britain and China over a sweeping national security crackdown ​in Hong Kong since sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 swept the territory, which was under British rule for 156 years before reverting ⁠to Chinese sovereignty almost 30 years ago.

The Chinese Embassy in London has accused Britain of fabricating the charges against Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police officer who worked ⁠at ​Hong Kong's Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, and Wai, a British Border Force officer and a volunteer officer for City of London Police. Wai was also convicted of misusing his Border Force job to gain access to the interior ministry's computer system.

Jurors were ⁠shown messages between Yuen, Wai and others, which the prosecution said showed them discussing plans to target activists, who were referred to as "cockroaches", ⁠and to carry out surveillance on British ⁠political figures. A third man who was accused of the same offences, Matthew Trickett, 37, a former British Royal Marine who worked as an immigration officer and private investigator, was found dead not long after ‌the trio were charged. ‌His death was not considered suspicious.