UK charges three with working for Hong Kong intelligence
Al JazeeraAPR 2024
British Marine Charged With Spying for Hong Kong Found Dead
Image copyright: Dan Kitwood/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
This case shows how determined Beijing is to retain its stranglehold on dissidents no matter where they live. Trickett and his co-conspirators, despite living in Britain and working for British organizations, chose to target Hong Kong freedom fighters on behalf of the Chinese government. This death is yet unexplained, but it will likely lead to more details surrounding China's espionage efforts.
Pro-China narrative
The UK has a history of accusing China of espionage activities with no evidence, which makes this case very suspect. While London will try to spin this into an example of the 'China threat', all three men, who are either British citizens or working legally in England, deserve full legal protections under British law.
Metaculus Prediction
There is a 50% chance that Hong Kong will no longer be a Special Administrative Region of China by 2046, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
