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Bill Yuen Chung-biu, office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, was convicted by a UK jury on Thursday of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act, alongside co-defendant Peter Wai Chi-leung, a former border officer. The jury returned a 10-2 majority verdict on the first count, and unanimously convicted Wai on a separate charge of misconduct in public office. No verdict was reached on the foreign interference charge against both defendants.
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In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said that from the outset it has clearly stated that the allegations in this case are "absolutely unrelated" to the HKSAR Government and the London ETO, and that Hong Kong was not a party to the case. It firmly opposed "all unfounded allegations" against the HKSAR Government and the London ETO.
The government said it has established 15 overseas ETOs as official representatives under Article 156 of the Basic Law, including the London ETO, which performs its duties in accordance with local laws and maintains close ties with government, business and think tanks to enhance Hong Kong-UK relations.
Regarding security arrangements, the government noted that past assaults on visiting Hong Kong officials and local disruptions targeting the HKSAR Government prompted the London ETO to engage local private security services to provide necessary security and transportation coordination for senior officials' duty visits.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
