Beijing’s top envoy in Hong Kong makes ‘solemn representation’ to UK consul general in city amid spying row
- Cui Jianchun, commissioner of Beijing foreign ministry office in Hong Kong, meets UK Consul General Brian Davidson to discuss Sino-British ties amid heightened tension
- Executive Council convenor Regina Ip weighs in again on spying row and says intelligence gathering on activists by Hong Kong’s overseas offices is ‘legal’
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.
At the centre of the storm was a move by British authorities earlier this week to charge three men, including Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the city’s UK outpost, with assisting an overseas intelligence service and foreign interference between December 2023 and May of this year.
The case also involved allegations the trio had conducted surveillance against Hong Kong activists living in Britain.
Beijing’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said on Saturday that Cui Jianchun, the newly appointed commissioner, had met UK Consul General Brian Davidson the day before to exchange views on Sino-British relations.
“Cui made solemn representations regarding the recent arbitrary arrest of Chinese citizens and unreasonable slander of the Hong Kong government by Britain, and urged the British consulate in Hong Kong to play a constructive role in promoting the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, as well as the healthy and stable development of China-UK relations,” the statement read.
