Britain recently accused three men of helping Hong Kong intelligence agencies illegally monitor and collect information, and one of the defendants died unexpectedly. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said that it opposed the British side to slander China through so-called "espionage activities".
The picture shows the streets of London on April 28 (information picture/Reuters)
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on May 22, in response to a reporter's question, "A former British military officer who was indicted for allegedly assisting the Hong Kong intelligence agency was found dead in a park in southeast England last Sunday. What is China's response to this?" Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, replied, "We have taken note of the relevant reports.", He also said that he had previously clarified his position on the so-called "China spy case" of the British side, "we firmly oppose malicious slander against China by so-called" spy activities ", and urge the British side to stop anti China political manipulation".
According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily reported on May 23, the United Kingdom indicted three men on 13 this month for violating national security laws, accusing them of assisting Hong Kong intelligence agencies in collecting information. Among them, the 37 year old defendant, a retired British marine, Trickett, died in a park in Berkshire, southeast England, on the afternoon of the 19th. The police temporarily listed the "cause of death unknown", pending autopsy. Trickett's lawyer was shocked by the news of his death. It is reported that Trickett was formerly a member of the airport border forces, served in the Marine Corps from 2007 to 2013, became the immigration management police of the British Ministry of the Interior in February this year, and worked for a private security company. According to the Daily Mail of Britain, during his detention after his arrest, two days before he appeared in court on the 13th of this month, Trickett mentioned to the detention house police that he would commit suicide once he was released, and said that "he has no love for life". British media also said that he tried to commit suicide after being charged.
After the United Kingdom filed a lawsuit against three people, the Hong Kong Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said that the British police announced the prosecution of three people, including Chinese citizens, on the pretext of being suspected of providing assistance to the intelligence department of the Hong Kong SAR. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the British side's violation of the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations, making accusations, fabricating so-called cases, and slandering the Hong Kong SAR government out of thin air. The statement pointed out that the definition of the provisions of the British National Security Act is vague and the authorization of law enforcement agencies is broad, which has been criticized by the world. The British side abused the name of national security, ignored the protection of basic human rights, and arbitrarily arrested and detained, which not only violated the spirit of the rule of law, but also was a naked political manipulation. Its sinister intentions of intervening in Hong Kong affairs and shielding anti China and anti chaos Hong Kong elements were clearly revealed.
The picture shows the Hong Kong SAR Government Building (information map)
The Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao said on the 23rd that although the exact cause of death of Trickett has not yet been clarified, the new national security bill passed by the UK last year has been criticized for its strict law enforcement, giving the government extremely high powers, and even ignoring the most basic guarantee of human rights. The law empowers the Home Secretary to take preventive and investigative measures in the absence of the person involved, without notice or hearing the statement, such as prohibiting the other party from leaving their home or forcing them to stay at a certain place, prohibiting the use of computers and mobile phones, or even arbitrarily imprisoning the person involved in the case and restricting the use of electronic communication equipment to contact others. As for acts related to foreign forces, the British police can also arrest and detain without a certificate, detain for up to 14 days before prosecution, and collect fingerprints and DNA, To conduct lie detection, restrict the persons involved in the case from consulting lawyers, or prohibit travel, property transaction restrictions, designated residence, prohibit or restrict access to designated areas, prohibit the use of financial services, prohibit engaging in a certain work or study, require the persons involved in the case to report and interview regularly, monitor them, disclose their residence and lie detection. It can be said that Britain's national security law treats almost the most basic human rights protection that the defendant should have as nothing, and the two crimes of "assisting foreign intelligence agencies" and "foreign intervention" that Trickett and others were charged with this time are serious crimes that can be sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment at most, "I'm afraid outsiders can't imagine how much mental pressure Trickett faced during his detention.".
The article said that the British general election will be held in July, and the long-term decline of the ruling Conservative Party will not be able to turn the tide in a short time. At this delicate time, the British government suddenly fabricated cases and created troubles in the name of "national security", which makes it even more difficult to guess whether it wants to use the "anti China card" to divert its attention. Some Hong Kong media said that the UK tightened its national security law while commenting on the 23 pieces of legislation of Hong Kong's National Security Law and the Basic Law, which is "totally double standards". (Yang Weimin)
Extended Reading
The German political circles play up the case of "Chinese spies", and politicians and institutions have voiced "concern"
After the German prosecutors announced the arrest of four German citizens suspected of spying for China, German politicians and institutions have voiced "concern". At the same time, the European Union conducted unannounced inspections of Chinese enterprises' offices in Europe. Experts interviewed by the Global Times on the 25th believed that this kind of behavior has some connection with the upcoming European Parliament election. Similar actions are too frequent, which will affect China Germany and even China Europe relations.
According to Reuters and other media (April) 24, German Prime Minister Schultz said at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Sunak the same day that spying on Germany was "unacceptable" no matter where it came from. "The recent arrests should not make us complacent, but should encourage us to arrest those who spy against national security." He said that the related allegations were very worrying.
The picture shows the information map of Scholz, who said that no matter where he came from, spying on Germany was "unacceptable"
Previously, Germany successively arrested four suspects suspected of spying for China, one of whom was the assistant of the German Select Party member Kla. Reuters said Kla was the main candidate of the German Choice Party in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. Immediately after the incident, he denied accepting any money from the assistant and said that he would dismiss the assistant, but would not abandon the election. In addition, according to American media reports, the recent German poll shows that the support rate of the German Select Party in the country has declined, and recent reports about the so-called "Chinese spies" will bring new adverse effects to the party.
In addition to Kela's assistant, Germany also arrested three people for allegedly transporting sensitive technology to China. On the same day that Schultz made the above remarks, Seren, Deputy Director of the German domestic intelligence agency "Federal Constitutional Defense Agency", warned the enterprises of the country, "Be alert to the industrial espionage activities of the Chinese government, and should not be naive or overly dependent on China".
The day before that, the relevant EU agencies had raided the offices of a Chinese enterprise in Poland and the Netherlands. In response, the Chinese mission to the European Union issued a statement on the 25th, saying that the European side's surprise action interfered with the normal market fair competition order, significantly damaged the atmosphere of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, had a strong impact on the confidence and security of all foreign enterprises in Europe, including Chinese enterprises, and highlighted the further deterioration of the business environment in the European Union, It sends extremely negative signals to all foreign enterprises in Europe.
Cui Hongjian, professor of the Higher Institute of Regional and Global Governance of Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times that the recent European hype about "Chinese spies" and the raids on Chinese enterprises are related to the upcoming European Parliament election. At present, the political atmosphere in Europe is tense and fragile, and the trend of prevention and pan security has increased. Many mainstream political parties have released signals to reduce and avoid the intervention of so-called external forces. The continuous hype of "Chinese spies" is a reflection of the above political mentality.
Cui Hongjian said that in the past two years, "the EU does not fully accept the cooperation orientation advocated by China, but hopes to keep a certain distance from the United States, and it is not Europe's choice to define China as an opponent to deliberately limit and reduce cooperation." This conscious "balance" is reflected in the policy that as long as China and the EU are close to each other, We must move in the other direction to hedge. Cui Hongjian believes that Chinese and European visionaries should fully tap the positive factors in bilateral relations, and "opposing aggression" is the behavior that casts a shadow on China EU relations.
