Hong Kong trade office expansion unaffected by UK spy case, commerce chief says

Hong Kong's plans to expand its network of overseas trade offices remain unaffected by a UK court case that found a Hong Kong trade officer guilty of spying, according to the city's commerce chief. Algernon Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, dismissed the court's findings as "unfounded smears" during a recent interview.

Yau highlighted the government's ongoing commitment to economic diplomacy, pointing to the recent opening of a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Kuala Lumpur and plans for a new office in Saudi Arabia. He asserted that these initiatives, aimed at promoting economic, cultural, and educational ties, would not be deterred by what he termed "unfounded smears."

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I don’t think these unfounded smears will affect us setting up economic and trade offices in other countries.

The case in question involved Bill Yuen, an office manager at the HKETO in London, and a former UK Border Force official, who were convicted under Britain's national security laws for allegedly spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in the UK. The Hong Kong government has consistently denied any connection to the espionage case, stating that the allegations are "absolutely not related to the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London."

In a separate development, Yau also addressed efforts to combat corruption, announcing that the government is collaborating with the Competition Commission to criminalize bid-rigging. This initiative follows a probe into the fatal Wang Fuk Court fire, which exposed widespread bid-rigging and corruption in the maintenance of residential buildings. The antitrust watchdog aims to present proposals to criminalize collusive tendering as early as September.

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We firmly oppose any unfounded allegations against the HKSAR Government and the London ETO.