{"id":59650,"date":"2024-05-27T05:18:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T05:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/spying-arrests-send-chill-through-britains-thriving-hong-kong-community\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T05:18:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T05:18:05","slug":"spying-arrests-send-chill-through-britains-thriving-hong-kong-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/spying-arrests-send-chill-through-britains-thriving-hong-kong-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Spying Arrests Send Chill Through Britain\u2019s Thriving Hong Kong Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/24\/multimedia\/24uk-hongkong-01-vtqw\/24uk-hongkong-01-vtqw-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Spying Arrests Send Chill Through Britain\u2019s Thriving Hong Kong Community\" title=\"Spying Arrests Send Chill Through Britain\u2019s Thriving Hong Kong Community\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Simon Cheng still visibly tenses when he describes his detention in China. In 2019, Mr. Cheng, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong and a former employee of Britain\u2019s Consulate there, was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/01\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-simon-cheng-asylum-uk.html\" title=\"\">arrested after a business trip to mainland China<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For 15 days, he was questioned and tortured, according to his account. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/11\/20\/world\/asia\/british-consulate-hong-kong-simon-cheng.html\" title=\"\">Beijing confirmed his detention but denied<\/a> he was mistreated. When he was finally released, he no longer felt safe in Hong Kong, and in early 2020, he fled to Britain <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/01\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-simon-cheng-asylum-uk.html\" title=\"\">and claimed asylum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s not hard to adapt to a new life in the U.K. in some ways,\u201d said Mr. Cheng, 33. \u201cBut also, I can\u2019t move on from the fate of my home city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His activism \u2014 and China\u2019s pursuit of him \u2014 did not end once he moved to London. Last year, the Hong Kong authorities <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-china-67724230\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">put a bounty on Mr. Cheng and other activists<\/a>, offering $128,000 for information leading to their arrest. Still, like many Hong Kong activists living in self-imposed exile in Britain, he hoped his newfound distance from the Chinese authorities put him far from their reach.<\/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\">Last week, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/13\/world\/europe\/uk-hong-kong-intelligence-arrests.html\" title=\"\">three men were charged in London with gathering intelligence for Hong Kong<\/a> and forcing entry into a British residence. While the men have not yet been found innocent or guilty \u2014 the trial will not begin until February \u2014 the news of the arrests threw a spotlight on many activists\u2019 existing concerns about China\u2019s ability to surveil and harass its citizens abroad, particularly those who have been critical of the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A spokesman for China\u2019s Foreign Ministry on Friday denounced what he called the \u201cfalse accusations\u201d and \u201cvile actions\u201d of the British authorities in taking the case. Last week, one of the accused men, a British former marine called Matthew Trickett, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/europe\/britain-matthew-trickett-hong-kong-intelligence.html\" title=\"\">was found dead in a park<\/a> while on bail. The death was categorized as \u201cunexplained\u201d by the police, which in Britain refers to unexpected deaths where the cause is not immediately clear, including suicide. During Mr. Trickett\u2019s initial court appearance, the prosecutor said that Mr. Trickett had tried to take his own life after being charged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anxiety over the arrests has rippled through the broader Hong Kong diaspora in Britain, even among those who are not politically active.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYou can kind of expect something like that to happen, but it is still so surreal,\u201d said Mr. Cheng, speaking from the central London office of Hongkongers in Britain, an organization he founded to aid new arrivals. Pinned on his sweater was a bright yellow umbrella, a symbol of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/08\/30\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-protests.html\" title=\"\">pro-democracy demonstrations that filled Hong Kong streets in 2014<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/09\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-protests-one-year-later.html\" title=\"\">again in 2019<\/a>.<\/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 imposed a draconian national security <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/07\/business\/hong-kong-security-law-tech.html\" title=\"\">law in Hong Kong<\/a> in 2020, granting the authorities in the former British colony sweeping powers to crack down on dissent. In response to the law, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/12\/business\/hong-kong-migrants-london.html\" title=\"\">Britain introduced a new visa for Hong Kong citizens<\/a>. Since then, at least 180,000 Hong Kongers have relocated through the visa program. Many have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/06\/04\/world\/europe\/hong-kong-migrants-uk.html\" title=\"\">rebuilt their lives<\/a> in Britain, and continue to participate in the pro-democracy movement from afar.<\/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\">Britain\u2019s Foreign Office said last week that the recent accusations of intelligence gathering appeared to be part of a \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-summons-chinese-ambassador-following-allegations-of-foreign-interference-in-the-uk#:~:text=The%20FCDO%20was%20unequivocal%20in,of%20bounties%20is%20not%20acceptable.\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">pattern of behavior directed by China against the U.K.<\/a>,\u201d which includes the bounties being issued for information on dissidents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Thomas Fung, 32, hopes the arrests will mark the beginning of a concerted effort by the British government to combat Chinese repression. \u201cWe always knew there was some kind of intelligence, or some spying on people, or just monitoring of what we are doing here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Fung came to England in 2012 to study accounting. He got a job in Oxford when he graduated and decided to stay. As Hong Kong\u2019s pro-democracy demonstrations swelled, he felt compelled to show his support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He participated in solidarity protests in London and later volunteered to help newly arrived Hong Kongers resettle. Eventually, he founded <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bonhamtreeaid.org\/en\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Bonham Tree Aid<\/a>, a charity that supports political prisoners in Hong Kong. The first time his organization\u2019s name was mentioned in a pro-Beijing newspaper in mainland China, he said, \u201cI knew there was no turning back.\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\">Politically active Hong Kongers like Mr. Fung and Mr. Cheng are not the only ones who fear being targeted by Beijing. Families looking for better education and young professionals seeking job opportunities also feel threatened, said Richard Choi, a community organizer in the south London borough of Sutton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sutton is sometimes referred to as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12676059\/Inside-Little-Hong-Kong-single-London-borough-attracting-thousands-families-students-fleeing-China-influencers-use-photos-Poundland-Starbucks-Lidl-entice-area.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cLittle Hong Kong<\/a>\u201d because nearly 4,000 <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/06\/04\/world\/europe\/hong-kong-migrants-uk.html\" title=\"\">former Hong Kong residents have resettled there since 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Choi, 42, came to London in 2008 for work and now runs a Facebook group for new arrivals in Sutton. He carefully obscures the faces of the community in the photographs he shares, as many fear they are being monitored.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI feel they are so nervous or have lost trust,\u201d he said of the new arrivals. The community became even more nervous, he said, after Hong Kong passed a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/19\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-security-law-article-23.html\" title=\"\">law known as Article 23<\/a> in March that carries penalties including life imprisonment for political crimes, and extends to Hong Kongers abroad.<\/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\">\u201cMaybe there was a period where people relaxed a bit,\u201d Mr. Choi said, but those with family in Hong Kong fear that if they return, they could be jailed. \u201cThey feel they have to behave and not say anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some in the diaspora remain vocal pro-democracy activists despite the risks. \u201cI am very proud of my identity as a Hong Kong person,\u201d said Vivian Wong, who moved to London in 2015 and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/aquila.uk\/?hl=en\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">opened a restaurant, Aquila Cafe<\/a>, in east London in 2021.<\/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 restaurant serves popular Hong Kong dishes and has become a place where members of the diaspora can gather for events and support one another. Inside, a noisy kitchen is run by chefs from Hong Kong slinging out steaming bowls of shrimp wonton soup and plates of crispy Hong Kong French toast stuffed with salted egg yolk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Photographs of protests line the walls, and the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/8a24161212c140ebaf9eac02049a978a\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">blue flag of British Hong Kong<\/a> flies over the cash register. Ms. Wong knows these symbols are seen by China as provocative, but she remains steadfast in her opposition to Communist rule.<\/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 try to threaten us,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I am not afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Catherine Li, 28, moved to London in 2018 to study theater. She began organizing solidarity protests in London in 2019. For a time, she used a pseudonym online to hide her identity. But when some of her political art went viral, she felt she could no longer hide and began using her real name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Her political views have left her at odds with her family back in Hong Kong, and she knows that she risks arrest if she were to return. \u201cIt took me a long time to accept that,\u201d she said, a tension she explores in her one-woman show, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.catherinekyli.com\/services-4\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cIn an Alternate Universe, I Don\u2019t Want to Live in the U.K.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite those difficulties, Ms. Li said she had found a sense of community in London.<\/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\">It is where she met her partner, Finn Lau, 30, after he resettled in the city in 2020. Their lives are now a busy balance of their day jobs \u2014 Ms. Li as a video game tester and actress, Mr. Lau as a building surveyor \u2014 and activism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Lau was among the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/04\/world\/asia\/hong-kong-bounties-dissidents.html\" title=\"\">eight dissidents for whom<\/a> the Hong Kong authorities offered a bounty last July. He and the others on the list have been warned that they will be \u201cpursued for life.\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\">And he has not always found London to be a haven. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/hong-kong-activist-subject-to-arrest-bounty-calls-on-britain-to-stand-up-to-china\/7182039.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">He was brutally attacked under suspicious circumstances by masked men<\/a> in London in 2020. His face still bears the scars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Lau believes the attack was related to his activism, but the police told him it was probably a hate crime. The investigation was closed after a few weeks. He has also <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/C4Dispatches\/status\/1729848380807848255\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">been approached by fake journalists<\/a> he suspects were working on behalf of the Chinese government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The arrests in London this month have given him new hope after being frustrated by what he saw as British inaction to a growing Chinese threat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s the first real, critical action from British authorities to take the threats to Hong Kong people seriously,\u201d Mr. Lau said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/27\/world\/europe\/britain-china-spy-arrests-hong-kong.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simon Cheng still visibly tenses when he describes his detention in China. In 2019, Mr. Cheng, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong and a former employee of Britain\u2019s Consulate there, was arrested after a business trip to mainland China. For 15 days, he was questioned and tortured, according to his account. Beijing confirmed his detention [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59651,"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\/24\/multimedia\/24uk-hongkong-01-vtqw\/24uk-hongkong-01-vtqw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5227,8243,40301,969,801,802,839,23504,17082],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59650"}],"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=59650"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59652,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59650\/revisions\/59652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}