Hong Kong leader hits out after UK charges three with spying for city

Hong Kong CNN —

Hong Kong’s leader responded on Tuesday after three people were charged by British police for allegedly spying on behalf of the city’s intelligence services.

On Monday, three men appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ court in London charged with national security offenses, including assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service, according to a statement from the city’s Metropolitan Police.

Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, are also accused of foreign interference, the statement said, without specifying who the men were allegedly spying on.

Relations between Hong Kong and its former colonial ruler Britain have soured in recent years following mass pro-democracy protests in the Chinese city in 2019 and 2020.

The British government has criticized Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed crackdown on almost all opposition in the years following the protests, while Hong Kong authorities have bristled at Britain providing a safe haven for pro-democracy leaders sought by the Hong Kong police.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee claimed the British charges against thre three men were a “fabrication.”

“The Chinese side firmly rejects and strongly condemns the UK’s fabrication in the so-called case and its unwarranted accusation against the Hong Kong government,” Lee said, referring directly to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in London that was also issued in response to the charges.

Chi Leung Wai leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, on May 13, 2024. Matthew Trickett leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court, central London, on May 13, 2024.

On Monday, the Chinese Embassy statement, strongly condemned what it called the United Kingdom’s “unwarranted accusation