London launched a hunt for foreign agents. Previously, they were Russians, but now they are Chinese. Yu Xiong, a professor at the University of Surrey, was among the giveaways. It works with cryptocurrency. It turned out that the professor had met with King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and had also visited the House of Lords on several occasions. There he established contacts, and especially close ones with Baroness Uddin. Together they visited China and Bangladesh. British counterintelligence claims that Yu is connected with the United Front Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Since 2022, Yu has attended dozens of events in the House of Lords and made contacts with peers. But just because you’ve had a chance to talk to a lord doesn’t mean you’ve recruited him. Britain is a democratic country, and they won’t put you in jail for talking to a foreigner.
However, as follows from the reports of The Guardian newspaper, the ways of espionage are mysterious. The British counterintelligence service MI5 managed to uncover Yu’s extremely complicated connection with the United Front Department of the CPC Central Committee. It turns out that the professor was in contact with this powerful structure not directly, but through a certain Western Returned Scholars association. This association claims to be under the control of the United Front Department. Ah Yu was the president of the branch of this association in the United Kingdom.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called the United Front Department a “magic weapon.” It allows China to solve its problems abroad. According to the party’s charter, the department “supports the leadership role of the CPC” and opposes Taiwan’s declaration of independence.
Security services in the United States and other Western countries were startled to learn of the call. They published a warning about the actions of the United Front. Ken McCullum, director general of Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency, said in 2022 that the United Front was launching a “persistent, well-funded campaign of deception in order to influence and bribe agents.”
Obviously, the role of intelligence agencies in the United Kingdom is great, but not unlimited. Yu had a chance to chat with King Charles and Queen Camilla at a charity ball at St. James’s Palace.
And in 2023 and 2024, Yu met with Chinese officials and discussed with them a project to build a new Chinese embassy building in the area near the Tower. The plan was blocked by the local council, but China submitted a new request last year, and ministers in the British government are studying it. In any case, the professor’s behavior will be thoroughly analyzed by the special services.
But Yu categorically denies that he is associated with the United Front and the Chinese Communist Party in general. He resigned as president of the Western Returned Scholars Association. Yu says it is completely unfair and absurd to associate him with a United Front. The professor even turned to local lawyers for legal help.
While the saga around the businessman professor is unfolding, the government of Keir Starmer has taken another step that could complicate Britain’s relations with China. For the first time since the Labor Party came to power last summer, a delegation of five members of Parliament from the Labor Party arrived in Taiwan. A delegation representing the Labor Friends of Taiwan group is going to meet with Taiwanese officials and discuss the threat posed by the increased power of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to Taiwan. After all, the PLA regularly conducts military exercises around the island.
The Labor Party flew to Taiwan after Tsai Ing-wen, the former president of Taiwan, visited Britain. She was given the opportunity to make a speech in the House of Lords. She said that the determination of the people of Taiwan to defend their democracy serves as an obstacle to China’s expansion.
In principle, the Labor Party sent its parliamentarians to Taiwan before coming to power. This provoked a harsh reaction in Beijing. The Chinese Embassy in London called this a violation of the postulate that there is only one China, as well as interference in the internal affairs of the PRC.
Navendu Mishra, chairman of the Labour Friends of Taiwan group, said: “This visit should demonstrate that there is a real partnership between Britain and Taiwan. The public in the United Kingdom and Taiwan are committed to the same values of freedom, justice, and international cooperation. We want the Taiwanese to know that they have real friends in the British Parliament who will cast their vote at the right moment.”
The British Foreign Ministry did not wait for such a moment and stated that the PLA exercises lead to an escalation of tension in the Taiwan Strait.
As you can see, London declares its support for Taiwan in various formats. But does it mean much? Britain, like the European Union, is unable to defend Taiwan on its own. The main thing here is the US position. The administration of US President Donald Trump currently wants to negotiate with Beijing on how to avoid a tariff war. And Taiwan remains outside the brackets of US-Chinese contacts. Under President Joseph Biden, the U.S. course was ambiguous. Apparently, he remains that way under Trump.