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Alex Lo

In the united Anglo-American media front, cause and effect are often reversed. With that, the latest case alleging Hong Kong spies in the city’s London trade promotion office could be a learning moment.
The conventional news story is that three men with links to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in central London have been charged with “assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference” under the National Security Act.
One of the men is HKETO officer manager Bill Yuen Chung-biu, who was also a former senior Hong Kong police officer.
The charges specifically refer to Hong Kong, rather than China.
No doubt it’s just a coincidence, but the British government has been blasting the Beijing-imposed national security law and Hong Kong’s own legislation passed under Article 23 of the city’s Basic Law while legislating a similarly draconian law that came into force last year.
In the current political climate, it’s worth your while to consider the reverse, that is, there have been calls to shut down HKETOs in Western countries, but particularly in the US and Britain. And so, a spy case has been conveniently conjured up to add meat to a bare-bone anti-Hong Kong cause that has so far been making wild claims without much evidence.
In recent years, in both countries, politicians and their connected and sometimes subsidised activists have been targeting HKETOs. This is despite the fact that the work of those offices has purely to do with trade and economics, and nothing to do with politics.
But just like the now mostly cancelled Confucian institutes before them, anything Chinese in the Anglo-American sphere is a target.
The spy case also fits nicely with the narrative that overseas Chinese and Hong Kong activists are being tracked down and threatened. And here’s the proof.
Now I don’t exclude the possibility that the case really is as told by the British government and London Metropolitan Police, and a real spy operation implicating Hong Kong was involved. After all, we all know Western governments never manipulate or lie about spy cases.
But when it comes to such allegations by one state against another, a healthy dose of scepticism is called for.
One must assume, as we have been told constantly by the British and US governments, including their own intelligence chiefs, that the Chinese have amazing spying capabilities that penetrate deeply into Western societies.
If that’s the case, why would Beijing need Hong Kong’s help? In fact, it would be in Chinese interest to keep the city’s nose clean because its chief value lies in economics and trade, not geopolitics. Getting Hong Kong involved in spycraft would indeed be counterproductive.
Perhaps there are rogue elements operating within the Hong Kong government, and more specifically the HKETO. But then, on the principle that anything is possible, the whole case may also consist of trumped-up charges.
But even if those three men really are Hong Kong or Chinese spies, it must be said that countries spy on each other at all times. Nothing is easier to catch than a few inconsequential agents. Usually they are quietly shipped out of the country.
But if one country wants to score some political points and make a fuss to serve an undeclared agenda, you make a showcase out of those alleged agents.
Now it strikes me that British and American politicians have every incentive to blow this case out of all proportion with the goal of shutting down most if not all Hong Kong trade offices. That would be another victory strike against those dastardly Chinese communists.
So, are those three men innocent? I have no idea. Is this case really about something else than Hong Kong spying? I think it’s more than likely.
Hong Kong has been caught up in the new cold war between China and the West, led by the United States.
The latest spy case, however you look at it, makes no sense except in that context.


Hongkongers pay tribute to late leader Tung Chee-hwa at community halls

The story begins …

Hong Kong’s new chapter

Hong Kong politics

British espionage case against Hong Kong demands scepticism

The Houses of Parliament in London, Britain. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

The UK government and London police may be telling the truth, but do not assume Western officials never manipulate or lie about spy intrigue


The UK government and London police may be telling the truth, but do not assume Western officials never manipulate or lie about spy intrigue.


My Take

Hong Kong-UK spying row

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

British espionage case against Hong Kong demands scepticism

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The UK government and London police may be telling the truth, but do not assume Western officials never manipulate or lie about spy intrigue

The UK government and London police may be telling the truth, but do not assume Western officials never manipulate or lie about spy intrigue