And alleged chinese spy who cultivated close ties with the Prince Andrew stated on Monday that he has not “nothing bad or illegal”as the British government faced questions about what it is doing to thwart the security threats from China.
The British authorities allege that the businessman Yang Tengbo -known only as “H6″ until a Superior Court judge on Monday lifted an anonymity order – was working on behalf of the United Front Labor Department, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party which is used to influence foreign entities.
It is the most famous case of a series of espionage scandals in recent yearsin which the existence of Chinese intelligence services in the British ruling class, including Parliament, is suspected or confirmed.
Here’s a look at Yang’s case:
Which50 years old, also known as Chris Yangappears as director of Hampton Group Internationala business consultancy that advises UK-based companies on their operations in China. He has been photographed with senior UK politicians, including former prime ministers. David Cameron y Theresa Mayat events.
Yang is apparently a key member of Pitch@Palace Chinaan initiative by Prince Andrew to support entrepreneurs.
Yang worked as a junior civil servant in China before arriving in the UK in 2002 to study. He earned a master’s degree in Public Administration and Public Policy from York University before launching his company.
In 2013 he was granted the right to live and work in the UK indefinitely. Yang told authorities that he had spent time in Britain and considered it his second home.
Details of Yang’s case emerged last week at a special immigration court, which upheld the decision by British authorities to ban him from entering the UK in 2023. The Home Office said he was believed to have carried outor “covert and deceptive activities” for the Chinese Communist Party.
The judges agreed with the MI5British National Intelligence, in which Yang “represented a national security risk.”” and dismissed his appeal.
The court heard that in 2021 the authorities They found documents proving Yang’s closeness to Prince Andrewyounger brother of Rey Carlos III.
A letter from a senior advisor to Andrew told Yang that “he should never underestimate the strength” of his relationship with royalty. “Aside from your closest internal confidants, you are at the top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on,” the advisor wrote.
According to the court, when Yang was questioned by immigration authorities, He did not explain in detail his relationship with the princewhich, in his opinion, had a “covert and clandestine” element.
Authorities have not made public the information Yang allegedly obtained or intended to obtain.. But the court cited a 2022 statement from the head of MI5 that described the objectives of the United Front Work Department as buying and influencing, amplifying pro-China voices and silencing those who criticize the authority of the Chinese government.
Andrew has been repeatedly criticized for his ties to wealthy foreignerswhich has led critics to suggest that these people were trying to buy access to the royal family.
Yang strongly denied the spying accusations and said it was a victim of a changing political climate in which tensions between Britain and China had risen.
“I have not done anything wrong or illegal”he stated in a statement. “The widespread description that I am a ‘spy’ is completely false.”
Andrew’s office said the royal met with Yang “through official channels” and that nothing delicate was ever discussed.
The Prime Minister, Keir Starmerwas concerned about the challenge posed by China, but defended his government’s strategy of commitment and cooperation with Beijing.
Starmerwho took office this summer, has tried to repair frayed ties and in November he became the first British leader to meet the Chinese presidentXi Jinpingsince 2018.
The opposition legislator Iain Duncan Smithone of Beijing’s leading critics, said that That glosses the clear threat posed by China.. Yang was already a known member of the China United Front Work Departmenthe told Parliament, and should not have been able to access the royal family without scrutiny.
“The reality is that there are many, many more involved in exactly this type of espionage that is taking place.”said.
In 2022, British intelligence services warned politicians that Christine Leea British-Chinese lawyer, had been trying to improperly influence members of Parliament for years. In 2023, a parliamentary investigator suspected of providing sensitive information to China was arrested.
(With information from AP)
