British Politicians and Businesses Exposed to Infiltration by CCP

Members of China’s intelligence agency, the United Front Work Department, are targeting politicians abroad.

Chinese and British flags fly on Pall Mall on Nov. 7, 2005 in London, England. Then Chinese leader Hu Jintao made a 3-day state visit to Britain that began on Nov. 8. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

One of Britain’s largest Chinese business funded real estate projects recently confirmed its breach of contract, sparking a wave of civil investigations into the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into British political and business circles, with a Chinese-born member of the House of Lords suspected of being involved in a major project tender.

On July 31, Lord Wei of Shoreditch, Nathanael Ming-yin Wei, announced in a statement that he had resigned as chairman of the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers after receiving this allegation.

“That’s putting every one one of us at risk,” said  Chung-ching Kwong, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in a July 31 tweet, pointing to Lord Wei as “being super close to United Front [Work Department of the CCP].”

“This is hugely problematic.” Kwong called on the UK government to take responsibility for ensuring the safety of the  community and the UK from infiltration by the CCP.

The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is China’s intelligence service, whose members engage in political interference, attempt to deceive, corrupt, or coerce politicians and prominent figures in other countries into supporting CCP objectives, and silence criticism of the CCP.

“Where the Chinese intelligence services, or bodies within the CCP itself—such as its United Front Work Department (UFWD)—are mounting patient, well-funded, deceptive campaigns to buy and exert influence,”  warned MI5 (a UK counter-intelligence and security agency) Director General Ken McCallum, at an MI5-FBI joint address.

A general view of derelict land next to Royal Albert Dock in East London on May 29, 2013 in London, England. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Chinese Project on Royal Albert Docks

On July 21, Advanced Business Parks (ABP), a Beijing-based Chinese company won a £1 billion (about $1.21 billion) contract to develop the historic Royal Albert Docks in east London in 2013.

Li Xuelin, Lord Wei’s advisor on China issues, and head of the Zhejiang UK Association, was alleged to have promoted the deal, according to a July 30 report by Luke McWilliams entitled “Lord Wei: An overview of UFWD engagement,” published on the Center for Foreign Interference website foreigninterference.org.

During a trip to China arranged by Li, Lord Wei traveled to ABP’s headquarters in Beijing, and the company paid for  airfares he needed to travel to various other cities in the country while there.

The CCP’s united front agency, The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, praised Li, in 2014, for playing a key role in the deal by matching Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, with ABP’s Xu Weiping, chairman of the ABP.

The project was suspended for over two years after completion of the first phase in April 2019.

In March 2022, the unqualified Chinese company finally confirmed a default and filed for liquidation, leaving behind a huge debt load and unfinished infrastructure work.

The whole process was questioned and alleged to be a fraudulent transaction.

In his statement, Lord Wei denied that he played any role in the deal.

Surrounded by CCP Spies

Between 2011 and 2016, Lord Wei had ongoing contact with entities controlled by or associated with the UFWD, according to the foreigninterference.org report.

In the overview, the report listed Lord Wei’s participation in the activities of the UK Chinese Association for the Promotion of National Reunification, an organization directly under UFWD, the Zhejiang UK Association, an outreach organization, as well as his meetings with the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom and other officials of UFWD, based on Lord Wei’s register of interests.

Lord Wei’s China advisor Li Xuelin married Lord Wei’s House of Lords colleague, Lord Michael Bates, vice chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister of State for International Development. Therefore Li became a well-connected person in both British and Chinese political circles.

In March 2014, Li was one of 35 Chinese influencers living abroad to attend the CCP’s Political Consultative Conference, at which the CCP authorities highlighted her overseas united front work. Li’s title at the time was executive vice president of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, and she had also served as a vice president of the All-British Chinese and Overseas Chinese Association for the Promotion of China’s Unification.

Li was also praised for her work by CCP leader Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK in 2015, as reported by CCP mouthpiece Xinhua on March 3, 2016.

CCP leader Xi Jinping unveils the plaque at the opening of Australia's first Chinese Medicine Confucius Institute at the RMIT University in Melbourne on June 20, 2010. William West/AFP via Getty Images

As a senior advisor to Lord Wei, Li took him to various events organized by CCP embassies and consulates and united front organizations, recommended him for Chinese language courses at a Confucius Institute, and arranged for his trips to China and meetings with business and political officials.

Charles Parton, a senior associate researcher at the Royal United Services Institute and a former senior diplomat, said that along with Li, Christine Ching-kui Lee, was suspected of being involved in Chinese Communist unification activities, The Financial Times reported on Jan. 14.

In January, MI5 warned that Chinese lawyer Christine Ching-kui Lee had been publicly soliciting influential people from all walks of life when it identified her as a Chinese Communist Party agent.

Benedict Rogers, the chief executive of Hong Kong Watch, said the UK should also refer to the relevant legislation in Australia and the United States to require foreign agents to register with the government to counter foreign interference and infiltration.

Lord Wei

In a statement posted on his website on July 31, Lord Wei said he had stopped working with Li and said it was “a mistake” to have her as an advisor. He has accordingly stepped down as co-chair of the Conservative Friends of the Chinese due to Li’s insider involvement.

Lord Wei said that in his work of connecting the East and West, it was inevitable that among the Chinese people and organizations he met with there were CCP officials who “are literally everywhere,” and he would never support the CCP through such meetings.

He stressed that “the stance towards the CCP will have to become more firm and robust.”

He said also his working focus has shifted to supporting Hong Kong immigrants and the East Asian community; and He still has relatives in Hong Kong, which the National Security Law implemented by the CCP could endanger.

According to Lord Wei’s statement and other public information, his father fled from Hong Kong to England in the 1960s to escape the Maoist activists in Hong Kong. He was born in England.

Through his partner Brett Wigdortz, he became a policy advisor to the Conservative Party and helped to shape the “Big Society” development project that helped David Cameron win the 2010 election. Big Society is a policy to encourage citizens over the age of 16 to participate in social governance at the community level.

Lord Wei was then recommended by David Cameron to the British Royal Family and became a life member of the House of Lords, the only Chinese Member of Parliament at the time.