Statement on the Activities of the United Front Work Department in the UK Parliament
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (UK) is deeply disturbed by revelations that an agent acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), has established influential relations with Members of Parliament and key parliamentary groups.
The UFWD is a network of individuals and organisations acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party to promote positive views of the Chinese government and silence its critics. Its activities to deceive, corrupt and coerce important individuals abroad go beyond the bounds of legitimate political influence and risk subverting our free and open democratic debate.
The UFWD also poses a major threat to members of Chinese, Hong Konger, Uyghur and other diasporic groups residing in the UK. The UFWD has a known history of infiltrating diasporic groups to monitor, threaten and intimidate individuals who air views critical of the Chinese government.
We call on the UK government to work with the House authorities to:
- Launch an investigation into the attempts of UFWD agents to gain influence among Members of Parliaments and key parliamentary groups.
- Introduce enhanced vetting measures to ensure that UFWD agents do not gain undue access to parliamentary activities.
- Enter into discussion with members of the British Chinese and other diasporic communities on how the government can help protect against monitoring, intimidation and threats from UFWD agents.
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