【By Observer Net, Liu Bai】

A two-year-long "Chinese spy" incident has finally come to an end.

On September 15 local time, due to lack of sufficient evidence, the British prosecution announced that it would drop the charges against two British men who were accused of being "Chinese spies" in 2023, and both were released without charge.

The Chinese side had previously stated that the claim that China was suspected of "stealing British intelligence" was entirely baseless and malicious defamation, and we firmly opposed it.

According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the two British men involved are Christopher Cash, 30 years old, and Christopher Berry, 33 years old.

Christopher Cash (left) and Christopher Berry (right)

The prosecutor in charge, Tom Little, told the court that the collected evidence did not meet the threshold for trial, "we simply cannot continue with this case".

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb stated that she "fully agreed" with the prosecution's decision and ruled the two men not guilty.

The two were arrested by British law enforcement in March 2023 and formally charged in April 2024. The prosecution accused them of gathering and providing information that harmed British national security and interests for China between December 28, 2021, and February 3, 2023, violating the Official Secrets Act.

They were originally scheduled to be tried at the Woolwich Crown Court from October 6, but both denied all the charges.

From the disclosed information, it seems that the two may have been accused due to their work related to China.

Cash was once a parliamentary researcher and served as the director of the "China Research Group" (CRG), having contact with multiple Conservative Party MPs. Notably, this group, under the guise of "studying China," frequently spread anti-China rhetoric, and is notorious.

Berry taught in China and introduced some tourist attractions in China on social media platforms.

Berry once taught economics and English in China

On the 15th, after the London Central Criminal Court decided to terminate the legal proceedings, Cash said outside the court that he was "pleased that justice was done."

He said that the past two years since his arrest felt like "a nightmare," and expressed hope that people could learn lessons from this "regrettable incident."

Cash's lawyer Henry Blaxland said that even his colleagues were surprised by these accusations. "We just hope he can rebuild his life."

However, the UK Home Office still stated in a statement that "given the seriousness of the charges, they could not accept the disappointing verdict."

The statement also said, "We will continue to use various tools and powers to prevent malicious activities."

A spokesperson for the UK Prime Minister's office echoed this, saying that dropping the charges was "extremely disappointing," and that the charges raised "serious concerns." "Any attempt by foreign forces to infiltrate is unacceptable."

The farce orchestrated by the British side ultimately ended in a hasty manner due to insufficient evidence, which exposed that the so-called "Chinese spy threat" was nothing more than a carefully fabricated lie for political purposes.

When the UK was promoting this case in 2023, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the UK had already pointed out that the claim that China was suspected of "stealing British intelligence" was entirely baseless and malicious defamation, and we firmly opposed it. We urged the relevant authorities in the UK to stop politicizing anti-China actions and stop this self-directed political farce.

But even now, the UK continues to manipulate the issue. In June this year, the UK government claimed that Chinese "spying activities" in the UK had increased, and the UK Foreign Secretary Lambo announced in Parliament that the current government would invest 800 million dollars to investigate this matter.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jia Kun, emphasized at a regular press conference on June 25 that China and the UK are both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major world economies, and developing bilateral relations and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation is in the interest of both countries and the world. I want to emphasize that China adheres to the path of peaceful development, does not pose a threat to any country, and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. China is willing to develop Sino-British relations on the basis of mutual respect and proper resolution of differences, but we will not accept any defamation, smearing or groundless accusations.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550531814868173346/

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