The United Kingdom accuses China of espionage: two people arrested

Relations between China and the United Kingdom are on the brink. The British accuse China of spying after arresting two people. One of them is said to have been in contact with the ruling Conservative Party. China itself strongly denies this.

What exactly the alleged spies were accused of is not yet known, according to UK correspondent Leah van Beechoven. This clearly included the suspect who worked for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and therefore had access to the British Parliament. He added: “He also organized drinks and parties for MPs around China, and was active on a dating site where he attempted to contact a political reporter.”

Although a Sunday newspaper only published the story yesterday, Van Beechoven confirms that the matter has been going on for some time. The suspects were reportedly arrested in March and will appear in court in October.

Danger?

The suspects themselves vehemently deny this, but even if they were convicted of espionage, Van Beechoven does not believe sensitive information was seized. “To get this confidential information, you have to be screened,” she explains. He added that the intelligence services are responsible for this. Only after approval would a permit granting access be issued, and the suspects did not have any.

Read also | China tells its citizens to spy on each other

Little is known yet about the background of the suspects, although Van Beechoven states that they graduated in Chinese sciences and global international politics. “This is also why at least one suspect was able to get a job as a detective quite easily – he was well educated in good schools.”

Chinese relationship

Van Beechoven also does not expect the alleged spying scandal to cause major problems in the relationship between China and the United Kingdom. Although British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on “China to stop interfering,” she described the diplomatic crisis as “unbearable.” “The British are of course concerned about Chinese interference, but they are not the only Western government to have ongoing problems with it.”