Following the arrest of three men accused of spying for Hong Kong, Britain’s foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to say that espionage and cyber attacks were not acceptable on British soil.
David Cameron, the British foreign minister, directed his officials to summon Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang for a meeting to criticise what the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office described as Chinese-backed activities in Britain.
According to the FCDO, the ambassador was summoned after three men were accused in a London court on Monday with supporting Hong Kong’s foreign intelligence service in Britain, in violation of the UK’s National Security Act.
Meanwhile, there is growing concern in the United States and Europe over China’s purported cyber and espionage activities.
Separately, the chief of Britain’s intelligence agency GCHQ stated that China constituted a true and growing cyber threat to the UK, and that the country was her agency’s top concern.
Earlier in May, the British media, citing official sources, claimed that China was a “malign actor” who had likely infiltrated the payments system used by the armed services. Beijing called the charge ridiculous.
The three men who are charged with assisting the Hong Kong agency had consented to “undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception” in the United Kingdom.
The Chinese Embassy in London declared that it had no right to meddle in Hong Kong’s internal affairs and charged that Britain had fabricated the charges against the individuals.
Hong Kong was under British authority for 156 years before returning to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
