LONDON: Britain’s spy agency, MI5 has warned lawmakers that a woman linked to the Chinese Communist Party, has been working to influence the political process of the country by establishing links with Parliamentarians.
MI5 issued an “interference alert” that Christine Ching Kui Lee has “acted covertly in coordination” with the United Front Work Department (UFWD), of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is “judged to be involved in political interference activities in the UK.” Ian Duncan Smith, a senior British lawmaker and former leader of the ruling Conservative Party, raised the alarm in Parliament on Thursday, saying that MI5 had warned House Speaker Lindsay Hoyle that an “agent of the Chinese government” has been actively working to “subvert” the processes of Parliament.
“This is a matter of grave concern,” Duncan Smith said. “We judge that the UFWD is seeking to covertly interfere in UK politics through establishing links with established and aspiring Parliamentarians across the political spectrum,” CNN quoted MI5 alert as saying.
The agency also highlighted that Lee has been facilitating “financial donations to political parties, Parliamentarians, aspiring Parliamentarians and individuals seeking political office in the UK, including facilitating donations to political entities on behalf of foreign nationals.” It is worth mentioning that the UK Company Register lists Lee as a British citizen. Lee’s UK-based activities are “to represent the UK Chinese community and increase diversity,” that those activities have “been undertaken in covert coordination with the UFWD, with funding provided by foreign nationals located in China and Hong Kong,” CNN reported. (ANI)
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