Chinese agents pressing Ukrainian lawmakers to act against civil society groups, whistleblower alleges

People working at the Chinese Embassy in Kyiv are lobbying lawmakers from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party to act against Ukrainian civil society groups that support pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, a whistleblower close to the government has claimed.

Sources close to the situation told the Kyiv Post on Oct. 8 that one high profile lawmaker from Servant of the People has been directly pressured by so-called ‘Chinese agents’ and added that it is highly likely others are coming under similar pressure.

Campaigners from the Kyiv-based Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine and the Free Hong Kong Center, two civil society groups that are close to pro-independence protesters in Hong Kong, confirmed to the Kyiv Post that such pressure was being applied to Ukrainian lawmakers loyal to the president.

They said they were fearful of the outcome and were in the process of lodging multiple police complaints.

The FHKC only has 10 active members in Kyiv. But the group is part of the 150-member LDLU, which is in turn part of the International Federation of Liberal Youth and the European Liberal Youth civil society organizations.

Multiple calls made by the Kyiv Post to numbers associated with two different departments of the Chinese Embassy in Kyiv went unanswered on Oct. 8. The Chinese Embassy has repeatedly ignored requests for comment from the Kyiv Post.

The whistleblower allegation comes from a reputable and reliable source within the Ukrainian parliament, who initially spoke with a reputable third party that is also close to Servant of the People lawmakers. That third party then passed credible information to the Kyiv Post.

According to the complaint, at least one lawmaker close to Zelensky has been directly pressured by alleged employees of the Chinese embassy who are not known diplomats, but possibly “agents”.

The alleged Chinese agents then pressed this person to intervene in a way that threatens the activities and members of the LDLU and FHKC civil society groups.

The alleged agents said they wanted to put their case to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka and Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Bohdan, to have them act against the groups and their members. The agents allegedly accused those groups of training and supporting pro-Democracy activists in Ukraine, before sending them back to Hong Kong.

In recent months, while pro-Democracy protests have gripped Hong Kong – a semi autonomous coastal region of southern China that increasingly supports independence – a few dozen Hongkonger activists have visited Ukraine, according to the FHKC and Hongkonger activists.

The campaigners have staged a number of small protests and photo opportunities together, and protest organizers in Hong Kong have repeatedly said they are inspired by Ukraine’s 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, which ousted the pro-Kremlin Viktor Yanukovych from presidential office.

Arthur Kharytonov, a civil society activist, coordinator at the FHKC and co-founder of the LDLU, told the Kyiv Post that he was not surprised by the activity of Chinese agents in the Ukrainian Rada, but was disturbed by how far they appeared to be going, and the allegations they have allegedly made.

According to him, they have made increasingly far-fetched allegations as part of their efforts to pressure Ukraine into shutting down the groups and having their members prosecuted.

Chinese agents have allegedly been telling Ukrainian lawmakers that the FHKC and the LDLU in Ukraine are “recruiting and training” activists in order to “start a revolution” in Hong Kong.

Furthermore, those agents regard Kharytonov and his fellow campaigners as “terrorists” who require the attention of the Ukrainian security services.

According to Kharytonov and the parliament whistleblower, Ukrainain lawmakers have also been told that their cooperation in “doing something” about the FHKC and the LDLU is a prerequisite to continued good relations with Beijing – possible indication of quid pro quo tactics by Beijing here in Ukraine.

Recently, China overtook Russia as Ukraine’s top single nation trading partner and Beijing is increasingly regarded as a vital strategic partner to Kyiv, despite its deep strategic and military ties to Moscow.

Separately, Ukrainian civil society activists in Kyiv who have staged protests in solidarity with Hongkongers are saying they have faced threats and intimidation. Protesters have received Tweets and messages that contain threats and harassment. Hongkongers have warned their friends in Kyiv to hide their faces or be stalked and attacked.

Some Ukrainian activists have been been sent threatening messages by Chinese residents of Kyiv, especially younger students.

Screenshots from one 40-member WeChat messaging group, shown to the Kyiv Post, show a conversation in which dozens of Kyiv-based China supporters share photos and discuss hunting down and attacking FHKC and LDLU members. The screenshots were grabbed and shown to the Ukrainian activists by a Hongkonger in Kyiv who is part of the group.

This is not the first time that Chinese officials in Ukraine have been accused of interfering in Ukrainian affairs. In 2017, Chinese ambassador Du Wei was involved in secretive meetings and negotiations with Ukrainian lawmakers related to the controversial Chinese takeover of the Ukrainian aerospace company Motor Sich. That takeover is currently stalled by Ukraine’s anti-monopoly committee, but multiple experts have told the Kyiv Post it appears likely to eventually go ahead.

Protesters here who support Hongkongers are fearful, and they are aware that activists supportive of Hong Kong in cities around the world have also been attacked by supporters of Beijing: “We could be killed in the street,” said Kharytonov.

Nonetheless, and despite the threats, FHKC and the LDLU are planning their next protests in Kyiv in support of pro-Democracy activists in Hong Kong.

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