Observers believe the UK will not close Hong Kong's Economic and Trade Office in London despite a recent spying verdict. Maintaining relations with Beijing is cited as the primary reason for this stance.

The operations of Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London will remain unaffected by a UK spying verdict, observers have said, arguing that the British government is unlikely to seek the body’s closure so as to maintain relations with Beijing. A British court on Thursday found Bill Yuen Chung-biu, the London HKETO’s manager, and Peter Wai Chi-leung, a retired Hong Kong police superintendent, guilty of spying on activists from Hong Kong on behalf of Chinese authorities. The Hong...