https://www.scmp.com/rss/518809/feed British authorities have prosecuted three men - including a Hong Kong public officer - for breaching the UK’s National Security Act 2023 by allegedly carrying out surveillance against dissidents from the city. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jack Tsang Jack Tsang A national security trial in Britain that thrust the role of Hong Kong’s overseas trade promotion offices into the global spotlight has heard the defendant deny he was spying on prominent activists from the city and UK politicians on behalf of China. Two years after his arrest, Bill Yuen Chung-biu took to the witness box last week and challenged the prosecution’s claim that he ran a “shadow” policing operation in the country, serving as a conduit for information about the activists while working... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348583/im-not-dumb-hong-kongs-london-trade-office-manager-denies-running-spy-network?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3348583/im-not-dumb-hong-kongs-london-trade-office-manager-denies-running-spy-network?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:30:12 +0000 Jinghan (Michael) Zeng Jinghan (Michael) Zeng British politics is once again allowing domestic drama to override strategic thinking. The latest hysteria surrounding alleged Chinese spying and Beijing’s plans for a new embassy in London illustrates how Britain’s foreign policy risks being driven less by sober calculation than by political theatre. The consequences could be severe: Britain is edging towards repeating the mistakes of Brexit, trading its long-term national interests for short-term populist gain. In the United States, the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332033/britain-danger-repeating-brexit-mistakes-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3332033/britain-danger-repeating-brexit-mistakes-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Nov 2025 12:30:09 +0000 The ushering in of a new Labour Party government in the UK after 14 years of Conservative rule leads to the big question of whether Britain’s foreign policy towards China will change and, if so, how. The UK’s China policy has seen various phases over the past half a century or so. The UK and China were once on opposite sides of the cold war and for the UK, dealing with China in the same period was related to China’s policies towards Hong Kong. For the UK, relations with China over the same... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3269881/3-factors-will-shape-britains-china-policy-under-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3269881/3-factors-will-shape-britains-china-policy-under-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:30:08 +0000 The recent incident in the United Kingdom, in which an office manager and two other people connected with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in London were charged under the UK’s National Security Act of 2023, has cast an unusual pall of intrigue and mystery over the role of the ETO in London. Hong Kong has 14 ETOs across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia. They were established in accordance with Article 156 of the Basic Law, which provides... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3264003/hong-kong-trade-offices-contributions-ties-uk-mustnt-be-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3264003/hong-kong-trade-offices-contributions-ties-uk-mustnt-be-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 May 2024 01:30:11 +0000 British police have said the death of Matthew Trickett, a suspect in an espionage case tied to Hong Kong’s trade office in the UK, is not being treated as suspicious, days after a city official called for more details to avoid “unwarranted speculation”. Thames Valley Police announced on Friday afternoon that a postmortem was completed on behalf of the coroner two days earlier. “As a result of this and further inquiries conducted by detectives, we can confirm the death is not being treated as... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3264078/uk-police-say-death-hong-kong-spy-suspect-matthew-trickett-not-suspicious-days-after-city-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3264078/uk-police-say-death-hong-kong-spy-suspect-matthew-trickett-not-suspicious-days-after-city-official?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2024 02:21:50 +0000 The death of an ex-UK Royal Marine accused of spying for Hong Kong is not being treated as suspicious, police said on Friday. Matthew Trickett, 37, an immigration enforcement officer and private investigator, was found dead in a park in Maidenhead, west of London, on Sunday. A Home Office postmortem was completed on Wednesday, Thames Valley Police said in a statement. “As a result of this and further inquiries conducted by detectives, we can confirm the death is not being treated as... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3264065/hong-kong-uk-spying-row-matthew-tricketts-death-not-suspicious-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3264065/hong-kong-uk-spying-row-matthew-tricketts-death-not-suspicious-police-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 May 2024 19:12:55 +0000 Whether spying can claim to be the world’s second-oldest profession after prostitution is highly contestable. But according to at least two sources, it has been skulking around for quite some time. First, the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament: “Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, ‘Go view the land, even Jericho’. And they went, and came into a harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.” Second, and much more recently, William Burns, head of the CIA... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3263778/why-shadowy-world-spying-back-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3263778/why-shadowy-world-spying-back-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 May 2024 12:30:12 +0000 British prosecutors on Friday dropped espionage charges against Matthew Trickett, who was found dead last Sunday, a week after he was arrested for allegedly spying on behalf of Hong Kong’s trade promotion office as a London court set a February trial date for two other co-defendants. Trickett, 37, had also been set to appear in court on Friday but was found dead in a public park in Maidenhead, Berkshire, about a kilometre away from his correspondence address. Thames Valley Police earlier said... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3264021/hong-kong-uk-spying-row-charges-dropped-against-matthew-trickett-suspect-found-dead-earlier-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3264021/hong-kong-uk-spying-row-charges-dropped-against-matthew-trickett-suspect-found-dead-earlier-court?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 May 2024 11:28:05 +0000 A Hong Kong woman named as a suspected target in a spying case in the UK is facing civil proceedings at the city’s High Court over allegations she stole more than HK$164 million (US$21 million) from her former employers. Monica Kwong Man-ki, who previously worked at HK Yearshine Investment and Twt Global, did not appear in court on Friday as the two companies sought to extend an injunction preventing her from transferring the allegedly stolen money. The whereabouts of Kwong and the case’s three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263934/hong-kong-woman-linked-uk-spying-row-faces-civil-case-over-theft-hk164-million-ex-employers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263934/hong-kong-woman-linked-uk-spying-row-faces-civil-case-over-theft-hk164-million-ex-employers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 May 2024 06:36:11 +0000 Hong Kong’s commerce minister has demanded Britain disclose the details behind the unexplained death of Matthew Trickett, a suspect in an espionage case tied to Hong Kong’s trade office in London, to avoid “unwarranted speculation”. Algernon Yau Ying-wah, the minister for commerce and economic development, made the call on Thursday as he met a senior British diplomat over the spying row and the incident in which Trickett was found dead in Grenfell Park in Maidenhead, a town west of London, on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263857/hong-kong-minister-demands-uk-promptly-disclose-details-surrounding-death-suspect-accused-spying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263857/hong-kong-minister-demands-uk-promptly-disclose-details-surrounding-death-suspect-accused-spying?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2024 14:35:11 +0000 The unexplained death of Matthew Trickett, a suspect in an espionage case tied to Hong Kong’s trade office in London, may complicate court proceedings, with a legal scholar saying that more might have been learned about the spying accusations if he had chosen to testify. Ex-Royal Marine Trickett, 37, was one of the three suspects charged with assisting an overseas intelligence service and foreign interference between December 2023 and May this year. British authorities alleged the trio were... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263749/death-suspect-matthew-trickett-alleged-spy-case-tied-hong-kong-trade-office-uk-may-complicate-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263749/death-suspect-matthew-trickett-alleged-spy-case-tied-hong-kong-trade-office-uk-may-complicate-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2024 05:45:46 +0000 The death of a British security consultant charged as part of Hong Kong’s spying row with the UK has sparked questions about his past and connections to the city. Ex-Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, 37, was found dead on Sunday in a public park in Maidenhead, Berkshire, only a kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the registered address of one of his companies. British police revealed the “unexplained death” on Tuesday and appealed to anyone with information to contact them. Trickett was one of three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263637/who-matthew-trickett-death-suspect-amid-hong-kong-uk-spying-row-sparks-questions-over-his-identity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263637/who-matthew-trickett-death-suspect-amid-hong-kong-uk-spying-row-sparks-questions-over-his-identity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2024 08:08:18 +0000 The mysterious death of an ex-Royal Marine accused of spying for Hong Kong has reverberated through the city, with his family asking for privacy and an official refusing to comment on “speculation” over the alleged role of the financial hub’s trade promotion office in an espionage case. Matthew Trickett, a Home Office immigration officer, was found dead in a park in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on Sunday, according to Thames Valley Police, who said on Tuesday they were treating the death as... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263595/death-uk-man-charged-spying-hong-kong-sends-shockwaves-through-city-officials-refuse-comment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263595/death-uk-man-charged-spying-hong-kong-sends-shockwaves-through-city-officials-refuse-comment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2024 05:02:12 +0000 A former member of the UK’s Royal Marines, bailed by a court last week along with two Hongkongers on spying charges, has been found dead, British police said on Tuesday. Matthew Trickett, 37, was found dead in a park in Maidenhead, west of London, on Sunday following a report by a member of the public, Thames Valley Police said. A police cordon remained in place in Grenfell Park late Tuesday, with several officers stationed next to a black forensics tent located close to a children’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3263568/matthew-trickett-uk-man-accused-spying-hong-kong-found-dead-park?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3263568/matthew-trickett-uk-man-accused-spying-hong-kong-found-dead-park?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2024 18:54:35 +0000 In the united Anglo-American media front, cause and effect are often reversed. With that, the latest case alleging Hong Kong spies in the city’s London trade promotion office could be a learning moment. The conventional news story is that three men with links to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in central London have been charged with “assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference” under the National Security Act. One of the men is HKETO officer manager Bill... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3263262/british-espionage-case-against-hong-kong-demands-scepticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3263262/british-espionage-case-against-hong-kong-demands-scepticism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 May 2024 13:00:10 +0000 Beijing’s top envoy in Hong Kong has made a “solemn representation” to the UK’s chief diplomat in the city over “unreasonable slander” towards the local government amid a recent spying row. Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee also said on Saturday it was “legal” for Hong Kong’s overseas trade outposts to gather intelligence on activists calling for sanctions against the city. At the centre of the storm was a move by British authorities earlier this week to charge three men,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263185/hong-kongs-regina-ip-says-overseas-trade-outposts-gathering-intelligence-activists-legal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263185/hong-kongs-regina-ip-says-overseas-trade-outposts-gathering-intelligence-activists-legal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 May 2024 06:36:11 +0000 Hong Kong’s overseas trade offices’ pursuit of economic diplomacy is a widely accepted and “absolutely legitimate” approach, but it risks crossing the host countries’ national security red lines which can be “blurry”, international relations experts have said. The city’s Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) set up outside mainland China have again drawn intense scrutiny after a manager of the London-based one was charged, alongside two others, by British authorities for allegedly spying on behalf... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263150/hong-kong-trade-offices-diplomatic-activities-are-legitimate-may-risk-crossing-blurry-security-red?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3263150/hong-kong-trade-offices-diplomatic-activities-are-legitimate-may-risk-crossing-blurry-security-red?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2024 14:12:43 +0000 The arrest of three men, including two Hongkongers, in the UK on spying charges marks the first time people from the city have been held under Britain’s National Security Act. The central and Hong Kong governments have spoken out over the arrests, accusing the British authorities of “political manipulation” and have also demanded full details of the allegations. The three men are next expected to appear in court on May 24. The Post, in the run-up to the high-profile trial, takes a closer look at... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262842/what-uk-national-security-act-used-against-3-men-including-2-hongkongers-london-and-how-does-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262842/what-uk-national-security-act-used-against-3-men-including-2-hongkongers-london-and-how-does-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2024 02:15:12 +0000 The recent arrest of two Hongkongers in the UK on charges of spying has unearthed the city’s past as a notorious hotbed for espionage that once ranked it alongside destinations such as Casablanca and Lisbon. Hong Kong’s relatively loose visa requirements and lack of espionage laws in the past made the city an ideal location for collecting and exchanging sensitive information. The city formally prohibited acts of espionage in March of this year under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3262820/hong-kongs-history-espionage-hotbed-back-spotlight-after-duo-arrested-uk-post-shares-portraits-past?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3262820/hong-kongs-history-espionage-hotbed-back-spotlight-after-duo-arrested-uk-post-shares-portraits-past?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 May 2024 13:49:38 +0000 Once a hothouse for grooming elite civil servants, Hong Kong’s trade office in London was where former city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and ex-financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah nurtured their budding careers before rising to the top jobs within government. But as UK-Hong Kong relations hit rock bottom following the 2019 protests and the city’s implementation of the national security law, the government outpost has become a hotspot for protests and even vandalism. The Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262699/uk-spying-case-puts-hong-kong-trade-offices-london-and-elsewhere-cross-hairs-geopolitical-battles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262699/uk-spying-case-puts-hong-kong-trade-offices-london-and-elsewhere-cross-hairs-geopolitical-battles?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 May 2024 00:30:11 +0000 The Chinese embassy in London has warned of a “firm response” if Britain further jeopardises ties after its top diplomat was summoned by the UK foreign office over the prosecution of three men accused of spying on behalf of Hong Kong. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said on Tuesday Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang had been summoned on the instructions of foreign minister David Cameron. Hours earlier, Hong Kong’s leader warned that any attempts by countries to interfere in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262695/beijing-warns-firm-response-if-uk-further-jeopardises-ties-hong-kong-spying-row-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262695/beijing-warns-firm-response-if-uk-further-jeopardises-ties-hong-kong-spying-row-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 14:41:42 +0000 The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has summoned Beijing’s top diplomat in the country to a meeting after three men linked to Hong Kong’s trade promotion office in London were charged with spying. The British international affairs ministry said that Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang was on Tuesday asked to come to a meeting on the instructions of David Cameron, the country’s foreign secretary. “The FCDO was unequivocal in setting out that the recent pattern of behaviour... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262671/uk-government-summons-chinese-ambassador-over-spying-case-linked-hong-kong-trade-office-manager-2?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262671/uk-government-summons-chinese-ambassador-over-spying-case-linked-hong-kong-trade-office-manager-2?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 12:11:51 +0000 Berlin has invited a senior Chinese embassy official to an urgent meeting after three suspects, allegedly including an ex-employee of a Hong Kong trade promotion body, were arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing, German authorities have told the Post. The three German nationals were arrested last month over allegations they were working to gather sensitive technologies and industrial data on behalf of Chinese intelligence services. “After the espionage allegations became known, we invited... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262589/berlin-invited-chinese-diplomat-meet-over-spying-case-linked-hong-kong-trade-body-ex-employee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262589/berlin-invited-chinese-diplomat-meet-over-spying-case-linked-hong-kong-trade-body-ex-employee?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 04:49:56 +0000 Hong Kong’s leader has warned any attempts by foreign countries to interfere in the work of its overseas economic offices will harm their own interests given the city’s trade surpluses, after a local public officer in the UK was charged with spying. British police earlier arrested Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, and two others on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference between December 2023 and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262578/hong-kongs-john-lee-hits-out-arrest-public-officer-over-unwarranted-spying-allegations-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262578/hong-kongs-john-lee-hits-out-arrest-public-officer-over-unwarranted-spying-allegations-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 03:58:21 +0000 Britain’s move to charge a Hong Kong public officer and two other men with spying will sour the United Kingdom’s ties with China and might put the future of the city’s foreign trade offices in jeopardy, analysts have said. Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, Peter Wai Chi-leung and Matthew Trickett were granted bail by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday after being charged with two offences under the National Security Act,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3262562/uk-move-prosecute-3-allegedly-spying-hong-kong-will-sour-ties-between-britain-and-china-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3262562/uk-move-prosecute-3-allegedly-spying-hong-kong-will-sour-ties-between-britain-and-china-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 00:51:51 +0000 This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. British authorities have prosecuted three men for allegedly breaching the UK’s National Security Act 2023 by assisting an overseas intelligence service and engaging in foreign interference on behalf of Hong Kong. The spotlight fell on 63-year-old defendant Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. The three... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3262550/who-are-3-men-charged-uk-spying-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3262550/who-are-3-men-charged-uk-spying-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2024 14:57:19 +0000 This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Three men – including a Hong Kong public officer – have been charged in Britain with conducting spying activities by allegedly carrying out surveillance against dissidents from the city, prompting strong condemnation from Beijing which called the case “pure fabrication”. In a strongly worded statement, the Chinese embassy in London said on Monday that Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262475/uk-police-charge-3-men-spying-activities-related-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3262475/uk-police-charge-3-men-spying-activities-related-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2024 08:13:09 +0000