Chinese ‘spy': I risked my reputation by supporting Prince Andrew
Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK on national security grounds, said he maintained 'loyalty and commitment' to the Duke despite the royal's general 'negative' perception in China.
Yang was forced to leave the country on national security grounds in March 2023 and unsuccessfully challenged the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission last year.
UK authorities have alleged that he formed an 'unusual degree of trust' with the Duke and developed relationships with politicians to be 'leveraged' by China.
On Friday, a secrecy order preventing the release of some documents linked to the case was lifted in the public interest after an application by publications, including The Telegraph.
Among the newly published documents is a second witness statement from Yang, where he denied 'scheming to destabilise the UK' and said he was 'confused' as to why the British state believed he was a threat.
Yang appears to have targeted the Duke through his Pitch@Palace initiative, a Dragons' Den-style competition launched in 2014, and he was later appointed to lead its Chinese arm, Pitch@Palace China, when it was launched two years later.
In the 37-page statement, Yang said that Pitch@Palace China had been 'recognised as one of the top international entrepreneur and start-up platforms in the country' but that after the Duke's November 2019 interview with Emily Mailtis, 'everything changed'.
'Following that interview, all international partners of Pitch pulled out or distanced themselves from it,' he said. 'The Pitch Global team moved from their offices out of Buckingham Palace. But the intention was to maintain Pitch in some form.'
He said Amanda Thirsk, the Duke's private secretary and the director of the Pitch@Palace initiative, asked whether he would continue to support the project, 'especially given the success we had achieved in China', and that he decided to do so despite believing it posed a risk.
'At a significant risk for me and my business reputationally, I agreed to continue to support Amanda and Pitch,' he said. 'I admired and respected the Duke in how engaged and passionate he was about supporting Chinese entrepreneurs. I felt I had also invested a huge amount of time, effort, and money into Pitch China and did not want that investment to go to waste.'
The new documents included a witness statement from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, that claimed the King held secret meetings with the Duke about his plans for a Chinese investment scheme run by Yang.
Mr Hampshire claimed that the King was aware of an investment fund in which Yang was directly involved.
Yang told the tribunal that he first met the Duke at a dinner in St James's Palace in 2014, having been introduced to Ms Thirsk by Sir Ron Dennis, the Formula 1 executive.
Earlier in the statement, Yang said on setting up Pitch in China, the initiative was 'unknown there, and the Duke's reputation was fairly negative and based on reporting taken from the British media'. He said he persuaded others to 'take a risk alongside me and invest in what was essentially a start-up'.
In his statement, Yang said that during his time working with the Duke, he had very little contact with him and could not have influenced the Duke.
'There would literally be no way I could possibly exert any unwanted influence on his team, or him. If anything, I was using my own networks and understanding of China to help with Pitch build[ing] a positive brand in China,' he said.
He said being a representative of the Chinese business community in the UK meant meeting members of the Chinese Communist Party was 'unavoidable' but 'this does not mean I am working for this organisation, for its interests, or on its behalf'.
'I am definitively not scheming to destabilise the UK or its institutions or prominent individuals, and I am not acting against the national interests of the UK. I am not a threat to the security of the UK, and I feel very insulted to be accused of this and without seeing any material evidence against me to support this.'
He later added: 'I am confused as to why the British state believes I am a threat to the public good on the grounds of national security.'
Yang said that concerns about the 48 Group, which promotes trade between the UK and China and of which he is a member, were 'paranoid and far-fetched'.
He said it was wrong to accuse him of spying and his 'prominent status as a successful Chinese entrepreneur in the UK' was 'nothing to do with me wanting to get access or exert influence in the UK '.
'I feel that the government completely misunderstands me and what I do. I don't deceive, I don't mislead, and I don't hide things to interfere with the interests of the UK.'
Yang also claimed that the Duke had wanted him to become involved with a golf tournament and told him to contact Mr Hampshire during a dinner at Buckingham Palace in October 2019.
'During that dinner, the Duke said I should contact Dominic who runs his golf tournament,' Yang wrote. 'He said there may be opportunities to work with him on golf like we had done with Amanda for Pitch. The Duke wrote Dominic's number down on a piece of paper and I then reached out to Dominic.'
Yang also suggested that the Duke wanted to keep a relationship with Chinese business in August 2021 because he 'needed money'
Yang said that when the new ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, came to the UK, Hampshire was 'involved in the preparation of the talking points' of a call. He said the 'purpose of the note was to keep the Duke engaged without promising anything in terms of financial benefit because the Duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
US hitwoman who flew to UK to murder lover's business rivals gets 30 years in prison
An American woman who traveled to the UK to try to assassinate her lover's business rivals — just for the gun to jam on her — was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison. Loved-up Aimee Betro, 45, traveled from Wisconsin for the twisted murder plot nearly six years ago in Birmingham, England, to please Mohammed Nazir, a British man she fell for on a dating app. Surveillance footage caught Betro as she hid behind a full Islamic niqab face covering while waiting in a car — then stepping out to try to shoot her main target's son, Sikander Ali, as he arrived home, just for the gun to jam. She came back hours later and fired three shots through the upstairs window, seemingly aiming to kill Ali's father, Aslat Mahumad, over an earlier fight he had with her lover, according to cops. 4 Aimee Betro of Wisconsin has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for trying to kill her British lover's business rival. She even texted Mahumad, threatening him: 'Stop playing hide n seek. You're lucky it jammed. Who is it? Your family or you? Pick one.' Betro fled the UK the next day – and remained on the run for five years. She was finally tracked down when she and Nazir tried to frame an innocent British man for the shootings. Betro, from West Allis, Wisconsin, was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for her 'leading role' in the twisted September 2019 plot, for which her online lover and his dad are already behind bars. 4 Betro was hired by Mohammed Nazir, whom she fell in love with online. West Midlands Police/SWNS 'You went beyond simply reaching an agreement to kill,' Judge Drew told Betro at sentencing, according to the BBC. 'It is only a matter of chance that Mr Ali wasn't killed. You were engaged in a complex, well-planned conspiracy to murder. You were prepared to pull the trigger and did so on two separate occasions,' the judge said. Betro — her hair in plaits and wearing glasses, a white top and black cardigan — sat expressionless as she was convicted of conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol with intent to cause fear of violence, and illegally importing ammunition at Birmingham Crown Court. 4 Betro's murder plot failed when her gun jammed, the jury was told. Nazir was last year sentenced to 32 years in prison for the failed contract killing, while his dad, Mohammed Aslam, got 10 years. The pair had feuded with Aslat Mahumad, and all three were hurt in a brawl at the target's clothes shop a year before the attempted hit, police noted. Betro had flown twice before to the UK to visit Nazir — in December 2018 and May 2019 — before coming back in August 2019 for the doomed hit. 4 Nazir's father, Mohammed Aslam, was sentenced over the plot in 2024. West Midlands Police/SWNS 'It's by luck that her attempt to kill her target failed, thanks to the jamming of her gun,' Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Orencas of West Midlands Police said. 'While she was passing herself off as a tourist, posting pictures and video of landmarks such as the London Eye while she was here, her real purpose was to commit murder.' The American convict will serve her prison sentence in the UK, which is likely to be 'particularly difficult,' the judge said in sentencing. 'All her family and friends are in America and she has had very few visits except for her lawyers,' Judge Drew said, noting that Betro had expressed 'remorse.'
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
Car company creates hilarious tool to channel drivers' anger — and avoid dangerous road rage incidents
A car company in China has a cartoonish approach to curing road rage. XPeng has unveiled a quirky new feature designed to subdue angry drivers — though it may also prove to be a distraction. Suppose you've ever thrown a digital banana peel at an opponent in Mario Kart. In that case, you might know the satisfaction that throwing something like a digital shoe or an angry face would illicit. Advertisement 3 The company developed an augmented reality game that allows the user to fire emojis at the wrongdoer. Xpeng The Guangzhou-based car company has developed an augmented reality game that allows the user to fire off emojis at the wrongdoer, which will project over the windshield in 3D space and give the illusion of hitting the cars. The steering wheel will have a customizable button that serves as a trigger, and the system will identify the target through its camera array before launching the emojis that appear to explode against the real car. Advertisement While they might not be as satisfying as throwing up the middle finger or watching the cup of coffee you hurled splash against your enemy's car window, it could provide drivers with some temporary relief from pent-up anger. The program, dubbed the 'Road Rage Reliever,' was unveiled earlier this month during a presentation in China. XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng said the bizarre feature represents 'technology-driven emotion,' Fast Company reported. 'We used to prioritize technology first, but starting this year, we will prioritize experience first,' Xiaopeng said, adding that the AR game is a way to 'be civilized and experience 'civilized frustration' rather than engaging in dangerous behaviors.' Advertisement 3 Road Rage Reliever converts the windshield into a virtual battleground featuring an 87-inch-wide augmented reality heads-up display. REUTERS Road Rage Reliever converts the windshield into a virtual battleground featuring an 87-inch-wide augmented reality heads-up display (AR-HUD) that takes up the driver's entire field of vision and then some. According to the developers, XPeng and Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei, the program has advanced optics and calculates the exact distortion necessary for the eyes to believe that things are not displayed on the windshield, but rather floating in the space 33 feet in front of the car. Advertisement The optical illusion convinces the brain to interpret the 3D objects as real, the companies claim. The development comes as road rage has become an increasing problem around the globe. In the U.S. alone, 92% of Americans have said they witnessed road rage in 2024 and 89% said they have been a victim, according to Consumer Affairs. Though road rage isn't new, there has been a significant spike in violence a result. In 2024 alone, 116 people were killed in road rage shootings and 362 were injured, according to Siegfried and Jensen. But the big question is whether or not its safe, with already growing concerns about driver distractions with touchscreen infotainment systems in cars. 3 XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng said the bizarre feature represents 'technology-driven emotion.' AP Photo/Ng Han Guan XPeng said that 'drivers are responsible for judging when it's safe to use.' Studies have shown that heads-up display systems can significantly improve the subjects' attention to risky areas, particularly when compared to traditional displays in the middle of the dashboard that force the driver to take their eyes off the road. The HUD placement keeps eyes in the driver's forward field of view, but some research shows that drivers were more likely to glance at HUDs compared to traditional displays, which can make them 'potentially distracting … Because the HUD is in the driver's field of view, drivers may fixate on it and fail to perceive events in the environment,' the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Advertisement However, that study refers to traditional car HUDs that are essentially small dashboards in the field of view, like those in high-end luxury cars like BMW and Mercedes. The XPeng feature overlays real AR elements onto the road and makes them part of the environment — which could potentially increase attention, improve response time and reduce the difficulty of processing information in dangerous scenarios.
Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
China Softens Stance: What A Yuan-Backed Stablecoin Could Mean
For years, Beijing's position on digital assets seemed resolute: cryptocurrencies were a threat to financial stability, a distraction from carefully managed capital controls, and a vehicle for speculation and fraud. When China banned crypto mining and trading in 2021, it looked like the end of any serious domestic experiment with blockchain-based money. Yet in a striking reversal, Chinese policymakers are now quietly preparing to consider yuan-backed stablecoins as a tool to strengthen the renminbi's role in the global economy. What was once prohibited may soon be actively promoted, but under strict guardrails. Reports indicate that the State Council is reviewing a roadmap for stablecoins pegged to the yuan, with Hong Kong and Shanghai tipped as pilot zones for rollout. Senior leadership is expected to convene in the coming weeks to clarify who will issue them, what regulations will govern their use, and how risks like capital outflows or illicit finance will be contained. For an economy still deeply cautious about capital flight, the idea of authorizing even state-linked stablecoins marks a profound recalibration. The shift reflects a convergence of pressures: the growing dominance of dollar-pegged stablecoins in cross-border trade, lobbying from Chinese tech giants eager to issue offshore digital yuan tokens, and the realization that without innovation, China risks ceding digital finance leadership to the U.S. and its allies. In other words, stablecoins are no longer just a speculative fringe product. they have become a geopolitical tool. From Prohibition to Pragmatism China's 2021 ban was sweeping. The government targeted everything from Bitcoin mining operations in Inner Mongolia to offshore exchanges serving domestic investors. The rationale was straightforward: crypto was volatile, energy-hungry, and capable of undermining state authority over money. But the world has changed in four short years. Stablecoins have moved from crypto curiosity to mainstream financial infrastructure, powering billions of dollars in daily settlement and serving as working capital for exporters in markets with scarce access to dollars. For Chinese merchants, the rise of dollar-linked stablecoins has been particularly compelling. Exporters paid in USDT or USDC can bypass some banking friction and settle faster with overseas buyers. That reality has alarmed Beijing, which fears an even greater US dollar entrenchment in global digital commerce. The answer for policymakers may be to create tightly regulated yuan-backed stablecoins as a counterweight. The logic is compelling. A digital asset denominated in renminbi could be efficient instrument for Belt and Road transactions, for trade with African and Southeast Asian partners, and for Chinese technology platforms that increasingly straddle global markets. It would also work with the existing e-CNY. The Role of Hong Kong and Shanghai The geography of China's stablecoin experiment is telling. Hong Kong has already implemented a Stablecoin Ordinance, requiring issuers to be licensed and subjecting them to strict oversight of reserves and redemption rights. The city has positioned itself as the experimental laboratory for digital finance within a 'one country, two systems' framework, where more liberal regulatory sandboxes are possible. Shanghai, meanwhile, is being readied as the mainland's operations hub. The city has always had ambitions to be a global financial center on par with New York and London, and an internationalized stablecoin market would fit neatly into that vision. By situating stablecoin pilots in these two hubs, China can cautiously test global use cases while keeping its capital account firewall intact. Global Currency Ambitions The strategic aim here is clear: to internationalize the yuan in digital form. Today, the renminbi accounts for just under 3% of global payments; the U.S. dollar constitutes just under half. A yuan-backed stablecoin could create a parallel channel for cross-border settlement, one that bypasses SWIFT and U.S. correspondent banks. If successful, the impact could be big. For decades, U.S. dollar dominance has rested on economic strength and the infrastructure of payments and settlement. Stablecoins erode some of that infrastructure advantage. For China, introducing a yuan stablecoin would provide a credible alternative currency in strategic corridors, particularly in Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America, where Chinese trade and investment already loom large. The Belt and Road Initiative is the obvious proving ground, as many of the primarily infrastructure-related projects funded by Chinese banks already involve yuan lending and repayment. A stablecoin denominated in renminbi would streamline these flows, reduce reliance on third-party currencies, and perhaps even lock partners more firmly into the Chinese financial orbit. Balancing Innovation and Control Still, Beijing's caution is visible. Policymakers remain deeply concerned about capital flight and money laundering. One reason the e-CNY was built as a centralized, state-controlled system was to ensure full traceability. Some stablecoins, even if issued by licensed banks or tech platforms, would inevitably operate on distributed systems. That raises questions about how to allow programmability and flexibility without undermining the PBOC's grip on the capital account. Reports suggest that only a handful of state-linked institutions, possibly the major state banks, will be initially authorized to issue yuan stablecoins. Redemption may be tightly geofenced, limited initially to B2B trade settlement rather than retail use. The PBOC is expected to impose real-time reporting obligations, reserve requirements, and redemption caps to prevent destabilizing flows. That balance will define the success of the project. Too much control, and the stablecoins will be clunky, unattractive, and irrelevant. Too little, and they risk fueling exactly the kind of capital flight Beijing fears. Implications for Fintech and Global Markets For fintech firms, the opening of yuan-backed stablecoin markets could be transformative. Custody providers, compliance technology firms, and payment processors will all find new opportunities to support the infrastructure of issuance and redemption. Chinese tech giants such as and Ant Group, which have reportedly lobbied for offshore stablecoins, may be essential levers in building consumer and merchant-facing applications. For emerging markets, the implications could be even larger. Platforms in Africa or Southeast Asia could integrate yuan stablecoins as settlement tools, reducing dependence on dollars and smoothing trade with Chinese suppliers. In places where dollar liquidity is limited, having a yuan alternative could reshape regional FX dynamics. Global investors, too, will be watching closely. If yuan-backed stablecoins gain traction, they could enable new asset classes and ETFs tied to Chinese digital currency infrastructure. They may also challenge the valuation of dollar-linked stablecoins, forcing issuers like Circle and Tether to rethink their positioning in Asian markets. Risks on the Horizon Of course, risks abound. International backlash is possible. Washington may view yuan stablecoins as a direct attempt to erode dollar hegemony, potentially prompting sanctions or controls on their use in U.S.-linked systems. Capital flight remains another concern: even carefully geofenced systems can be gamed, and sophisticated users could find ways to move yuan offshore without authorization. Domestically, the coexistence of e-CNY and stablecoins may create confusion or competition. The government has been pushing adoption of the e-CNY for years, but uptake has been uneven. If consumers or businesses perceive stablecoins as more practical, the state may face the awkward task of promoting one digital form of the yuan while restraining another. Finally, there is a risk of over-engineering. If regulatory requirements make yuan stablecoins cumbersome in the form of slow settlement, strict redemption limits, limited interoperability, then their adoption will likely be limited and the experiment will fizzle. A Quiet Paradigm Shift Even with these risks, China's willingness to consider yuan-backed stablecoins signals something important: a recognition that the future of money is digital, borderless, and programmable. While Beijing once hoped that the e-CNY alone would suffice, it now appears to understand that competing in the global arena will require a new, more flexible approach. Stablecoins are not about to dethrone the dollar overnight. But they could chip away at its dominance at the edges, especially in regions where China has strategic influence. For fintechs, they open new commercial opportunities. For policymakers, they introduce new regulatory challenges. And for the global financial system, they signal a future where digital money is not an experiment but a battleground of economic strategy. In that sense, the yuan-backed stablecoin debate is about more than technology. It is about whether China can use digital finance to accelerate its long-running project of currency internationalization. The coming months, as pilots are announced and regulations clarified, will show whether this is a cautious trial balloon or the start of a genuine re-engineering of the global monetary system.
