Hong Kong leader says China’s sentencing of US citizen exposes national security threats

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader says the sentencing on spying charges of a U.S. citizen in China who was also a permanent resident of the semi-autonomous city illustrates that the territory should stay vigilant to hidden national security risks. The government says mainland Chinese authorities had informed Hong Kong of the arrest of John Shing-Wan Leung in 2021. He was sentenced Monday to life in prison. Neither Hong Kong leader John Lee nor the court in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou that tried Leung have released details of his alleged crime. The sentencing threatens to further exacerbate already strained ties between Beijing and Washington. A long-time Beijing loyalist, Lee has taken a hard line toward any signs of dissent in Hong Kong.