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☆ Yang Tengbo: British court names alleged Chinese spy who forged close ties to Prince Andrew
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-16 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —An alleged Chinese spy who forged a close relationship with Prince Andrew has been identified by a British court, the latest twist in a case that has shone a light on Beijing’s influence inside Britain’s institutions. The man, Yang Tengbo, was identified after a judge ruled his anonymity should be removed, PA Media reported on Monday. He was the co-founder of Pitch@Palace China, which expanded into China an initiative for entrepreneurs that was set up by Andrew in 2014. Andrew’s office said last week that the prince ceased his relationship with Yang after receiving government advice. Starmer in November became the first prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping for six years.

Persons: London CNN —, Prince Andrew, Yang Tengbo, Yang, Chris Yang, King Charles, Andrew, “, Duke, ”, China’s, ‘, Christine Lee, Iain Duncan Smith, Keir Starmer, toughen, Xi Jinping Organizations: London CNN, PA Media, China, Media, Parliament’s Intelligence, Security, China’s United, Work Department, Communist Party, CCP, ” CNN, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese Communist Party, Former Conservative Party, BBC Locations: China, Westminster, Beijing, Starmer

☆ Chinese associate of Prince Andrew banned from UK as national security risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-13 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters —A Chinese businessman who had forged close links with Prince Andrew and was authorized to act on his behalf to seek investors in China has been banned from Britain on national security grounds. The ban on the Chinese businessman came after the contents of his phone were downloaded when he was stopped under counter-terrorism laws at a UK border in 2021, the ruling said. It said this revealed Prince Andrew had authorized him to set up an international financial initiative to engage with potential partners and investors in China. The prince, 64, the eighth in line to the throne, was a roving UK trade ambassador from 2001-2011. In 2022, the royal family removed his military links and royal patronages.

Persons: Reuters —, Prince Andrew, Andrew, Xi Jinping, ”, H6, “, Jeffrey Epstein, Charles Bourne, Duke, ” Bourne Organizations: Reuters, Immigration, Chinese Communist Party, Front Work Department, Work Department, Beijing’s Locations: China, Britain, Beijing, London, Buckingham, Windsor

☆ American jailed for spying by China rubbed shoulders with senior Chinese officials, CNN reporting shows, CNN reporting shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“He’s a very famous person, known by many overseas Chinese in the southern US,” Tang said. Reports published by Chinese-language media in Texas and China’s state media show Leung’s long-running access to senior Chinese officials. In 2014, he met with the director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office during a visit to Nanjing, the provincial capital. This photo shows John Leung with Wang Hua, the former director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. It also comes as American and Chinese officials are resuming high-level engagements since a dispute over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shattered efforts to mend ties earlier this year.

☆ Chinese officials step up foreign travel in race to find investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Their urgency highlights the pressure local governments face in boosting growth while burdened with cumulative debt of $9 trillion, said the sources who met Chinese officials in Hong Kong. The other executive and Yim said they had often attended as many as eight to 10 events a day with Chinese officials. Fengze, a district in the nearby city of Quanzhou, signed up procurement deals of up to 30 billion yuan from Hong Kong, the city's social media accounts showed. Shenzhen’s Boao district alone aims to attract 100 billion yuan in foreign investment this year, with 26 business managers and 10 officials responsible for key streets committing themselves to the task in a letter, Chinese media said. ($1=6.8810 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's foreign interference laws designed for China - former PM Turnbull
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CANBERRA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Exposing China's activities was the "key purpose" of Australia's foreign interference laws, but the scheme has failed to do this, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who introduced the laws, said on Tuesday. The Australian government was careful not to name China when introducing laws to prevent foreign interference in 2018, but the move nonetheless sparked tension with Australia's largest trading partner that later developed into a diplomatic freeze. Turnbull told a parliamentary committee the "key purpose" of a foreign interest register was to disclose the links the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department had formed in Australia. The committee is examining whether to adjust the foreign interference laws to improve their effectiveness. Australia's government plans to "out" foreign interference operations that are targeting politicians, academics and community leaders, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said earlier this month.

☆ Canada probes reports of Chinese 'police service stations' in Toronto
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Tuesday they were investigating reports of Chinese "police service stations" operating in the Greater Toronto Area for possible interference in Canadian interests and threats to national security. Canada joins countries including the United States and the Netherlands to launch such investigations after Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police "service stations" in major cities around the world. The stations are an extension of Beijing's efforts to pressure some Chinese nationals or their relatives abroad to return to China to face criminal charges, the report by Safeguard Defenders said. Greater Toronto Area is home to Toronto, Canada's financial capital and the most populous city. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

☆ Beijing pushes back on FBI claims of Chinese ‘police stations’ in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

China on Friday pushed back on claims it was operating ‘police stations’ on U.S. soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was “very concerned” about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing’s influence operations. Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police “service stations” in major cities around the world, including New York. The Embassy did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for a list of the sites. Members of the British parliament have also called for investigations into similar sites. Republicans in the U.S. Congress, including Representative Jim Banks, have requested answers from the Biden administration about the operations of the sites.

☆ China pushes back on FBI claims of Chinese 'police stations' in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - China on Friday pushed back on claims it was operating 'police stations' on U.S. soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was "very concerned" about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing's influence operations. Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police "service stations" in major cities around the world, including New York. China's Embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not "police stations" or "police service centers." Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said such stations needed to be "stopped in their tracks." "By allowing the CCP to operate these types of institutions in their countries, international governments are complicit in Beijing's actions," Clifford said.

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The United States is deeply concerned about the Chinese government setting up unauthorized 'police stations' in U.S. cities to possibly pursue influence operations, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Thursday. It also linked them to activities of China's United Front Work Department, a Communist Party body charged with spreading its influence and propaganda overseas. We are aware of the existence of these stations," Wray told a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, acknowledging but declining to detail the FBI's investigative work on the issue. Wray, asked by Republican Senator Rick Scott if such stations violated U.S. law, said the FBI was "looking into the legal parameters." Wray said the United States had made a number of indictments involving the Chinese government harassing, stalking, surveilling, and blackmailing people in the United States who disagreed with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

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