Trade Offices Must Not Be Used for Transnational Surveillance and Repression
Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor (HKLRM) welcomes today’s guilty verdict in the London Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) espionage case.
After a 39-day trial and six days of jury deliberation, HKETO office manager Yuen Chung-biu and former Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport Wai Chi-leung were found guilty under the UK National Security Act for assisting a foreign intelligence service. Wai was also convicted of misconduct in public office.
The verdict sends a clear message that free societies will not tolerate any form of illegal transnational surveillance or repression.
HKLRM Executive Director Christopher Mung, who has himself experienced transnational repression, said:
“For years, Hong Kong activists living overseas have faced harassment, intimidation, and monitoring linked to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. This case shows these threats are real. We hope the verdict acts as a warning to anyone involved in carrying out surveillance or repression on behalf of authoritarian regimes. Those who undermine freedoms in democratic societies must face consequences for their actions. Democratic societies must not become hunting grounds for political intimidation.”
During the trial, substantial evidence presented in court revealed that HKETO resources and privileges were allegedly used for activities far beyond normal trade and economic work, including gathering information on Hong Kong activists and dissidents living in the UK.
HKLRM stresses that HKETOs were established to promote trade and economic relations, not to conduct intelligence operations or target overseas dissidents. The misuse of diplomatic privileges and official positions to suppress democracy activists fundamentally undermines the legitimacy of these offices.
We therefore urge the UK government to urgently review the status and privileges granted to Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, including whether their current diplomatic privileges remain appropriate.
We cannot allow the Hong Kong authorities to disguise political repression as trade promotion, nor permit authoritarian “long-arm repression” to extend into free societies.