Two men jailed in UK for spying for China

Two men, including one who worked as a ​British immigration officer, were jailed on Thursday after being convicted of spying on ‌prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in Britain on behalf of Hong Kong, and ultimately China.

Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 66, and Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 41, who worked for the UK Border Force, were convicted last month of assisting a foreign intelligence service by carrying out surveillance on targets between December 2023 and May 2024.

Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s fraud conviction and prison sentence were overturned by a Hong Kong court on Thursday in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after he was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon, Anthea Pang and Derek Pang said in the judgment they allowed the appeal from Lai and another defendant in the case to proceed as a lower court judge had “erred”. “The court of appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges wrote in a press summary of their judgment. Even with the quashing of the fraud conviction and sentence, Lai will remain imprisoned for 20 years in a separate national security case over two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials. That case has drawn global criticism from rights groups and countries, including the US and UK, and served as one of the most high-profile events in a years-long crackdown under a national security law imposed by Beijing after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019. Thursday’s legal victory was rare for the prominent China critic who has faced many prosecutions in recent years and described himself in court as a “political prisoner”. Also on Thursday, a court sentenced the father of a wanted pro-democracy activist to eight months in prison under a homegrown national security law after he attempted to terminate her insurance policy and withdraw funds. ‘Judge erred’ Lai was sentenced in December 2022 to five years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of breaching the lease terms of Apple Daily’s headquarters by concealing the operation of a private company, Dico Consultants, in the building. Another Next Digital executive, Wong Wai-keung, 61, was found guilty of fraud and jailed for 21 months. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said the department of justice will study the judgment to consider whether to appeal the court of appeal’s decision “In conclusion we hold Apple Daily Printing did not owe a duty to the corporation to disclose its breach of the user restrictions or the non-alienation clauses occasioned by Dico’s occupation and use of the said premises. With respect, the judge erred,” the judgment read. “His reasoning in concluding the applicants were liable for the concealment as the prosecution contended is unsupportable. He erred in making the findings.” In the earlier ruling, judge Stanley Chan wrote that Lai was aware of the need to apply for a licence from the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation for Dico to operate at the headquarters and had “acted under the protective umbrella of a media organisation”. During the appeal hearing, Lai’s lawyer Derek Chan said Dico, a company owned by Lai, supported the publishing and printing of the newspapers apart from handling the tycoon’s private affairs. He noted at the start of the charge period on April 1 1998 Dico held a 49% stake in Apple Daily and was linked to Next Animation, the studio that produced animations for the newspaper’s online news reports. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said the department of justice will study the judgment to consider whether to appeal the court of appeal’s decision. Deteriorating health Lai’s son and daughter have warned their 78-year-old father might die in prison given his deteriorating health after more than five years in solitary confinement. Lai has suffered from retinal vein occlusion in his right eye, high blood pressure, heart palpitations and progressive hearing loss. Rights groups and democratic countries have called for Lai’s release. US President Donald Trump raised the matter with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and is expected to follow up again in a visit to Beijing at the end of March. Reuters

They are believed to be the first people to have been convicted of spying for China in Britain.

Wai was also convicted of misusing his Border Force job to search the interior ministry’s computer database for details about targets.

The men, both dual Chinese and British nationals, had denied the accusations, while the Chinese embassy in London said the case was “nothing but a political move of abusing the law”.

“The UK now faces persistent, adaptive and often clandestine interference by foreign state actors and those acting on their behalf,” judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb told London’s Old Bailey court.

“Modern foreign intelligence activity is not confined to orthodox espionage against military or governmental secrets. It may take the form of surveillance, information gathering, intimidation, and targeting of dissidents and those who have sought the protection of this country’s laws.”

She jailed Yuen for eight years, while Wai was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

A South Korean court ordered life in jail on Thursday for former president Yoon Suk Yeol, after holding him guilty on charges of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection, stemming from his December 2024 attempt to impose martial law. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the case, closely watched in a deeply divided country. It is the most consequential yet for the ousted leader, whose bid triggered a national political crisis and tested democratic resilience. In January prosecutors had said Yoon’s “unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission ... actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order.” Masterminding an insurrection carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life imprisonment under South Korean law. South Korea last handed down a death sentence in 2016, but has not executed anyone since 1997. There was a strong police presence at the Seoul Central District Court, which is trying the case, with police buses forming a security cordon around the building. The court will also rule on charges that Yoon abused his authority by ordering troops to storm parliament to drag his opponents out and jail them, as well as dispatching soldiers and police to block, inspect and control access to facilities such as the opposition party building. Yoon, 65, has denied the charges. The conservative former career prosecutor argued he had presidential authority to declare martial law and that his action was aimed at sounding the alarm over opposition parties’ obstruction of government. Seoul detention centre The ousted former leader, who has been detained at the Seoul Detention Centre, is likely to remain there regardless of the ruling. If found guilty, he is expected to appeal against the ruling and can again challenge any appellate court decision at the Supreme Court. Judicial guidelines say the first trial should conclude within six months and the entire process, including appeals, in two years, but trials often stretch beyond that. If the Seoul district court clears him on Thursday, his legal woes are far from over. Yoon, who faces eight trial proceedings, was given a five-year jail sentence in January in a separate trial on charges including obstructing attempts by authorities to arrest him after his martial law declaration. He has appealed against that ruling. While Yoon’s bid to impose martial law lasted only about six hours before it was met by large street protests and voted down by parliament, it sent shockwaves through South Korea, which is Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a key US security ally, and long considered one of the world’s most resilient democracies. In a post on X, President Lee Jae Myung, a liberal who won the presidency in a snap election in June after Yoon’s removal, commended the actions of the Korean people to thwart the attempt to bring in martial law. “It was possible because it was the Republic of Korea”, Lee said, using South Korea’s official name, adding the Korean people would serve as an example for human history. His post was attached to a newspaper story about how some academics had recommended that the Korean public be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for facing off against troops and police to oppose martial law without violence. Reuters

“The activity of Wai and Yuen was truly chilling,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counterterrorism policing in London.

“They were spying and targeting individuals in the UK who were pro-democracy campaigners and were simply protesting against the Hong Kong and Chinese government and authorities.”

Reuters