Furious Beijing reacts: groundless, malicious

Britain's arrest of the three men on espionage suspicions are groundless and malicious, the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom wrote in a strongly worded statement.

A spokesman said Beijing "firmly opposes and strongly condemns" the fabrication of the so-called espionage case and its "unjustified accusation" against the Hong Kong government.

"Britain has also arbitrarily harassed, arrested and detained Chinese nationals under the disguise of justice and national security, which is a serious provocation to the Chinese side and a serious violation of the basic norms of international relations," he said.

"We urge the UK to immediately rectify its mistakes, as any political maneuvers to slander China are doomed to failure. We advise Britain to stop going further down the wrong road to undermine Sino-British relations."

Former Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said the coverage of the UK's national security legislation is "very broad" while the limit on the freedom of the individual being investigated is "huge and long lasting."