UK sentences two men in first convictions for spying for China
A UK court on June 18 sentenced two dual Chinese-British nationals for spying on behalf of Hong Kong and China, in what are believed to be Britain’s first convictions for spying for China . Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 66, received eight years; Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 41, a UK Border Force officer, received 10 years after also misusing his position to search government databases on targets.
The pair conducted surveillance on pro-democracy dissidents living in Britain between December 2023 and May 2024. Their arrests followed a failed kidnapping attempt on a former Hong Kong resident in May 2024. The sentencing judge noted that modern foreign-intelligence work extends beyond classic espionage into surveillance, intimidation, and targeting of dissidents abroad.
The case is a marker in how Western governments are treating transnational repression — the pursuit of exiles on foreign soil — as a prosecutable national-security offense rather than a diplomatic irritant, and a Border Force officer’s involvement points to insider access as a vector.