A British court has convicted two men linked to an Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) of spying on activists from the city on behalf of Chinese authorities.

Bill Yuen Chung-biu, the London office’s manager, and Peter Wai Chi-leung were found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service on Thursday, two years after their arrests thrust the role of Hong Kong’s overseas promotion offices into the global spotlight.

Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police superintendent, was earlier accused of passing on surveillance requests from city authorities while working at the HKETO to co-defendant Wai.

Prosecutors said Wai had used his position as a United Kingdom Border Force officer to gather personal information about Hong Kong activists in the UK using the Home Office’s computer systems.

The court heard that Nathan Law Kwun-chung, one of 19 wanted fugitives with HK$1 million (US$127,700) bounties placed on their heads by Hong Kong police, was among the targets.

The pair, both dual Chinese-British nationals, denied charges of assisting a foreign intelligence service by engaging in unlawful information gathering, illegal surveillance and committing acts of deception between December 2023 and May 2024, in violation of Britain’s National Security Act.

They also denied forcibly entering a residential property on May 1.

That same month, a third suspect, former Royal Marine and Border Force officer Matthew Trickett, was found dead 18 days after being released on bail.

During the trial, which started in early March, prosecutors said Yuen had received a list of British political figures – including Iain Duncan Smith, chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China – from a retired police officer, and was asked to gather details on their connections to certain activists and whether they were “causing disturbances in Hong Kong”.

Yuen told the court he reached out to Wai after the office was frequently targeted by protesters in 2021, saying help from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command of London’s Metropolitan Police Service was only occasional and inadequate.

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【有線新聞】 昨日為內地勞動節長假期首日，漁農自然護理署（漁護署）按管理計劃於全港多個主要景點加強巡邏、執法及宣傳教育。因應多區人流超出預期，署方即時增派人手維持秩序，並利用無人機及閉路電視等科技監察現場情況。

西貢東壩實施人流管制　科技助監察防範跨欄

西貢東壩一帶昨日錄得約5,700人次到訪，人流一度達到非常繁忙水平。漁護署於早上11時至下午3時期間，在破邊洲觀景台實施人流管制，派員於山徑出入口及觀景台駐守。為保障訪客安全，署方除增派人手執法外，亦應用無人機在破邊洲觀景台上空進行監察及廣播，提醒遊人切勿跨過圍欄。現場遊人普遍配合指示，秩序良好。

三大熱門營地現千頂帳篷　秩序衞生大致理想

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橋咀洲人流勝預期　署方發300次口頭勸喻

西貢橋咀洲昨日吸引約3,000人上島，人流較預期多。漁護署即時調配前線人手，聯同警務處、海事處及食環署展開聯合巡邏，防止亂拋垃圾並維持秩序。此外，漁護署聯同世界自然基金會香港分會（WWF）向浮潛遊人宣傳「珊瑚友善路線」，提醒市民切勿觸碰珊瑚或採集生物。巡邏期間，現場人員共向遊人發出約300次口頭勸喻。

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漁護署表示，將會持續密切監察各主要景點在未來數日假期內的情況，相關管理及執法措施將維持至黃金周完結。

近年不少內地旅客受「小紅書」分享香港郊野美景影響，每逢假期湧入西貢鹹田灣及西灣一帶露營，令營地超負荷運作，垃圾滿地、非法生火等破壞環境行為，造成嚴重「露營之亂」。《星島申訴王》五一黃金周假期直擊現場實況，發現今年漁護署人員「屯重兵」日以繼夜嚴防死守，至少20人來回不同位置當值，行動將延續多天確保營區整潔，但仍有個別旅客亂拋未熄煙蒂入草叢、微雨走出崖邊拍照及隨地丟棄垃圾等不文明行為。

今日（1日）中午12時許，記者乘船抵鹹田灣後，沿麥理浩徑二段步行至西灣營地視察，沿途遇上不少旅客，未見除夕跨年垃圾塞爆各處的亂象，但沙灘上及步行徑隨處可見印有簡體字的煙盒或用膠袋打包後丟棄的內地飲用水樽與食物包裝紙；另外有操普通話的旅客坐在步行徑或壆邊抽煙休息，完事後將煙蒂棄在草地後離開，未有留意煙蒂是否完全熄滅，亦有旅客無視自身安全，在今日微雨潮濕環境下，走出步行徑範圍外的崖邊拍照。