{"id":50522,"date":"2024-05-14T19:35:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T19:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/14\/u-k-summons-chinese-ambassador-for-reprimand-as-tensions-rise\/"},"modified":"2024-05-14T19:35:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T19:35:17","slug":"u-k-summons-chinese-ambassador-for-reprimand-as-tensions-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/14\/u-k-summons-chinese-ambassador-for-reprimand-as-tensions-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"U.K. Summons Chinese Ambassador for Reprimand as Tensions Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/14\/multimedia\/14uk-2-hpgq\/14uk-2-hpgq-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"U.K. Summons Chinese Ambassador for Reprimand as Tensions Rise\" title=\"U.K. Summons Chinese Ambassador for Reprimand as Tensions Rise\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The day after U.K. police charged three men with <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/13\/world\/europe\/uk-hong-kong-intelligence-arrests.html\" title=\"\">assisting Hong Kong\u2019s intelligence service<\/a>, China\u2019s ambassador to Britain was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-summons-chinese-ambassador-following-allegations-of-foreign-interference-in-the-uk\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">summoned for an official reprimand<\/a> by the British foreign ministry in the latest sign of growing tension between London and Beijing. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The British government said that it had called the ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, to its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office after the three men appeared in court on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Foreign Office said in a statement that it had been \u201cunequivocal in setting out that the recent pattern of behavior directed by China against the U.K.\u201d was not acceptable. It cited cyberattacks, alleged espionage and the issuing of bounties for information leading to the prosecution of dissidents who fled Hong Kong after its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement and resettled in Britain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The three men who appeared at Westminster Magistrates\u2019 Court on Monday have been charged with gathering intelligence for Hong Kong, a former British colony which is a special administrative region of China, and of forcing entry into a U.K. residential address.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They were identified as Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, of Staines-upon-Thames; Matthew Trickett, 37, of Maidenhead, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, of Hackney, East London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police officer, is the office manager for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, one of 14 Hong Kong government outposts outside China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Wai is a border force officer based at Heathrow Airport and a volunteer police officer in the City of London, the capital\u2019s financial district. He is also the founder of a London security firm, D5. Its <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.d5security.com\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a> describes him as \u201chaving over 20 years\u2019 experience in the British military, police and private security sector\u201d and providing \u201cexclusive and discreet services to his clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trickett, a British immigration enforcement officer and a former Royal Marine is the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk\/officers\/gayeo0R34N_IjNDeIlgWRpjpHzA\/appointments\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">director of a private security firm<\/a>, MTR Consultancy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Hong Kong authorities confirmed that an employee of the trade office in London had been charged. In a statement on Monday, the government called on the United Kingdom to handle the case fairly and to \u201cprotect the legitimate rights and interests of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office\u2019s Office Manager who was alleged to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">China\u2019s Embassy said it \u201cfirmly rejects and strongly condemns the U.K.\u2019s fabrication of the so-called case and its unwarranted accusation\u201d against the Hong Kong government, and that it had \u201cmade serious representations to the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It added: \u201cFor some time now, the U.K. has staged a series of accusations against China, including those on \u2018China spies\u2019 and cyberattacks. All those accusations are groundless and slanderous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the meeting on Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy said its ambassador had told Foreign Office officials that Britain \u201cmust stop anti-China political maneuvering and not go further down the dangerous path of jeopardizing China-UK relations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Whether the charges against the three men are true or false, they have focused attention on broader concerns about the status of pro-democracy activists who sought refuge in Britain after Hong Kong authorities cracked down on popular, youth-led protests in 2019 and 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In January 2021, Britain began allowing some Hong Kong residents to settle in the United Kingdom under a special visa program. More than 160,000 people, including high-profile activists and other citizens, took part, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/06\/04\/world\/europe\/hong-kong-migrants-uk.html\" title=\"\">rebuilding their lives<\/a> and the pro-democracy movement on British soil.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But many activists say that repression has followed them to the U.K., resulting in a series of clashes with pro-Beijing forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In November 2021, Hong Kong pro-democracy activists showed up at an antiracism event organized by pro-China groups in London\u2019s Chinatown. They were <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/05\/world\/europe\/neville-roy-singham-china-propaganda.html\" title=\"\">attacked by thugs<\/a> aligned with the event organizers, according to witnesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In October 2022, a rally outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/19\/world\/europe\/britain-china-consulate-protester.html\" title=\"\">turned violent<\/a> when a group of men dragged a protester through the consulate\u2019s gates and beat him up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Britain\u2019s Parliament, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aliciakearns\/status\/1582383984839122944\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">accused<\/a> the then-consul general, Zheng Xiyuan, of participating in the scuffle. After the British government requested that consular officials waive their right to diplomatic immunity and allow detectives to question them, China removed Mr. Zheng and five other officials from the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Then in July 2023, Hong Kong announced <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/04\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-bounties-dissidents.html\" title=\"\">bounties of $128,000<\/a> for information leading to the prosecution of eight dissidents who had fled, including several living in Britain. Hong Kong\u2019s top leader, John Lee, said they would be \u201cpursued for life.\u201d Five more activists were added to the bounty list <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-china-67724230\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">in December<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Tuesday afternoon, one of those activists, Simon Cheng, attended a protest outside the trade office in central London\u2019s leafy Bedford Square. Mr. Cheng, 33, the founder of a diaspora group Hongkongers in Britain, said he had regular contact with the police over safety fears after Hong Kong issued the bounty in December for information leading to his arrest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMany dignitaries in the U.K. still go into this building,\u201d he said, gesturing to the Hong Kong trade office behind him, for business and trade opportunities. \u201cWe cannot tolerate this, this is literally an authoritarian regime, suppressing our people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Around three dozen pro-democracy protesters, many of them young people who fled Hong Kong after its draconian national security law was passed, had gathered for the demonstration. Some wore face masks to shield themselves from being easily identified over worries about being targeted by the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, while others spoke freely and shared their full names.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tony Chung, 23, a prominent pro-democracy protester <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-china-67831501\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">who fled to Britain last year after being imprisoned<\/a> in Hong Kong under the national security law, said that many Hong Kongers living in London felt they had to be vigilant about their public role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey\u2019ve always been worried about these situations and thus have reduced participation in political matters related to Hong Kong-Chinese democracy, human rights and freedom,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, my hope is that Hong Kongers living in the U.K. will understand political fears should especially be expressed, and must persuade the U.K. government to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tensions between London and Beijing have risen in recent months as the British government has become increasingly vocal over allegations of Chinese espionage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In March <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/25\/world\/europe\/uk-china-cyberattack-hacking.html\" title=\"\">Britain accused China<\/a> of cyberattacks that compromised the voting records of tens of millions of people, adding that the Chinese had attempted unsuccessfully to hack email accounts belonging to several members of Parliament. In April <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-68874822\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">two men, one of whom worked as a researcher<\/a> in Parliament, were charged with spying for China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And earlier this month the British government said that the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/07\/world\/europe\/uk-armed-forces-data-hack.html\" title=\"\">personal information of British army, navy and air force<\/a> members has been hacked in a significant data breach. While it did not identify any source for the attack, several prominent British lawmakers blamed China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anne Keast-Butler, the director of Britain\u2019s Government Communications Headquarters, the intelligence agency known as GCHQ, said in a speech on Tuesday that China had built \u201can advanced set of cybercapabilities and is taking advantage of a growing commercial ecosystem of hacking outfits and data brokers at its disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">China, she added in comments at a conference, \u201cposes a genuine and increasing cyber risk to the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Tiffany May<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/14\/world\/europe\/uk-china-ambassador-hong-kong-intelligence.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The day after U.K. police charged three men with assisting Hong Kong\u2019s intelligence service, China\u2019s ambassador to Britain was summoned for an official reprimand by the British foreign ministry in the latest sign of growing tension between London and Beijing. The British government said that it had called the ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, to its Foreign, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/14\/multimedia\/14uk-2-hpgq\/14uk-2-hpgq-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13929,3394,50617,572,9134,571,503],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50524,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50522\/revisions\/50524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}