Two men jailed in Britain for spying for China in operation targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy dissidents

Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 66, and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 41, were handed sentences of eight and ten years respectively at the Old Bailey on 18 June 2026, in what is believed to be the first conviction of its kind in the country. The pair were found guilty last month of conducting surveillance on targets between December 2023 and May 2024.

Sentencing at the Old Bailey

Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb described the case as one of "persistent, adaptive, and often clandestine interference by foreign state actors" during her sentencing remarks. Wai, a former UK Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport, received the longer sentence of ten years after also being convicted of misusing his position to search the interior ministry's database for information on targets. Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police officer who worked as office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, was jailed for eight years.

“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.”

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, called the actions "truly chilling". The men had denied the charges, and the Chinese embassy in London labelled the case "nothing but a political move of abusing the law".

The surveillance network

The operation saw Wai, who began working for Border Force in December 2020, use his access to a vast database of foreign nationals to trace Hong Kongers who had fled pro-democracy crackdowns. He passed the information to Yuen, who acted as a conduit to Chinese authorities. When Wai started at Heathrow, he sent a message to former Hong Kong Police Criminal Intelligence Bureau chief superintendent Eddie Ma, still linked to the Chinese state, stating: "Will not let any cockroaches in."

The men were arrested after a failed attempt to snatch former Hong Kong resident Monica Kwong from her flat in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, on 1 May 2024.

Targets: dissidents and politicians

Court proceedings revealed that the surveillance extended beyond pro-democracy campaigners to include British elected officials. Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a known critic of Beijing, was among those on whom "special attention" was paid, according to evidence heard during the trial.

Official reactions

Following the arrests in 2024, the then Conservative government summoned the Chinese ambassador in London to protest "unacceptable actions". The Labour government of Keir Starmer, in power since 2024 and seeking to improve bilateral relations, repeated the move after the conviction last month, condemning what it called a violation of UK sovereignty.