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00:00Three men are brought to court in London charged with spying on behalf of China
00:04and delinked to the Hong Kong government's trade liaison office in the
00:07UK. The three men are Bill Yoon, 63, the office manager of the Hong Kong
00:13Economic and Trade Office and a former Hong Kong policeman. Peter Wai, a 38 year
00:18old City of London police special constable and Matthew Trickett, a 37 year
00:22old immigration enforcement officer. Wai and Trickett are directors of a
00:26security consultancy firm. The three are accused of breaching the National
00:30Security Act 2023 by assisting an overseas intelligence service and
00:35engaging in foreign interference on behalf of Hong Kong. They are also
00:39charged with forcing an entry to a residence. It is believed the alleged
00:43offences were part of a surveillance operation of Hong Kong dissidents living
00:47in the UK, including former elected representative Nathan Law. China has
00:53reacted with fury to the arrests, saying the allegations were fabricated. Hong
00:58Kong Chief Executive John Lee, who revealed he was a former classmate of
01:02Bill Yoon, said the prosecutions unfairly targeted the HKETO. We have
01:07seriously demanded the UK side to fairly handle the matter. It effectively
01:14protects the legitimate rights and interests of the Hong Kong Economic and
01:21Trade Office. Any attempt to make unwarranted allegations against the
01:28Hong Kong SAO government is unacceptable. In April, British prosecutors
01:34charged two men, one a former parliamentary researcher with spying
01:38for China. The three men arrested on Monday were released on bail and will
01:42next appear in court on May 24th.