UK Jails 2 Men for Spying on Hong Kong Activists as MI5 State-Threat Cases Jump 48%
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 21
UK Jails 2 Men for Spying on Hong Kong Activists as MI5 State-Threat Cases Jump 48%
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 21
Summary
Two men were jailed this week for surveilling Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners in Britain in what prosecutors described as a China-linked “shadow policing” operation.
The case sits inside a wider rise in transnational repression in the UK, where MI5 state-threat investigations rose 48% in a year and officials have handled more than 20 Iran-related threat-to-life cases since 2022.
March 2024’s stabbing of Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati in south London — described as a targeted attack linked to Tehran — is one of dozens of recent incidents tied to foreign states including Russia, China, India, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Diaspora activists from Hong Kong, Iran, Pakistan and elsewhere told the Guardian they face threats, surveillance, harassment and coercion, while criticizing police and government responses as patchy and inadequate.
The UK tightened espionage and foreign-interference laws in the 2023 National Security Act, but lawyers, MPs and rights advocates say it still lacks a clear strategy to stop authoritarian states targeting exiles on British soil.
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Landmark 2026 Espionage Trial in UK: Unveiling China’s Shadow Policing of Hong Kong Dissidents
Overview
In June 2026, Chi Leung “Peter” Wai and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen were convicted and jailed in the UK for espionage, marking a landmark case. Both men, holding official positions as an immigration officer and a Hong Kong trade official, were at the center of a sophisticated shadow policing operation targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy activists living in the UK. Their arrest followed a failed attempt to abduct former Hong Kong resident Monica Kwong from her home in West Yorkshire, highlighting the aggressive tactics used. This case exposed the serious threat of foreign state-sponsored activities on British soil.