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Regarding the increasing number of people smuggled into the UK, Prime Minister Sunak introduced a new bill on March 7 – the “Stop the Boats Bill” (Stop the Boats Bill), and issued a statement: “We will detain those who come here illegally, and then in the UK. Deport them within a few weeks and, if it is safe, send them back to their own country, or to a safe third country like Rwanda.”
The so-called “stopping the ship” is a British characteristic. The United Kingdom is an island country surrounded by the sea, and sea lanes are the easiest way to enter the country illegally, so most of the stowaways use the sea lanes: a rubber boat with nothing, full of stowaways, as long as the boat does not capsize, they can reach the UK safely See it as a dangerous way to find the light, even if it comes with the risk of death. This often reminds me of mainlanders who smuggled into Hong Kong from Shenzhen in the 1970s. At that time, they risked swimming at night to find the light on the other side.
Speaking of the British government’s tolerance, patience and care for illegal immigrants for many years, it has always been difficult for me, an immigrant, to understand-this humanitarianism is too good to be understood. Based on my previous simple logical understanding—since it is an illegal entry, wouldn’t it just be over if I sent it back? I didn’t expect the protection of human rights in the UK to be so high! Not only prisoners, but even smugglers enjoy almost the same treatment as British nationals, or even better! The word “illegal immigrant” does not have a negative connotation in the UK, but sometimes has the connotation of “people who need to be rescued”. Because the British nationals have been cultivated with a feeling of helping the weak, any images of refugees suffering or even dying on the TV news can inspire a mentality of helping. Anyone who enters the UK can apply for refugee status and settle in the UK. Even without obtaining refugee status, it is actually very difficult for the British government to drive away illegal immigrants, because the protection of human rights is too high and there are too many legal procedures to go through, and these procedures will cost the government money.
Previously, the UK’s finances have been stable, so the government and people have been able to treat stowaways well, because the people’s lives are good, and spending money to take care of stowaways has a high moral value, which is valued by the British and the government. Recently, house leaks have been raining overnight. Since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukraine War, the West has begun to decouple trade with Russia, which has led to a large-scale readjustment of the industrial chain in various countries. In the past six months, various industries in the UK have gone on strike to demand wage increases. The government has been trying to resist pressure. At the same time, the government will support Ukraine substantially and indefinitely. In such an era of burning money, the British government still has to spend 6 million pounds a day to pay for hotel accommodation for illegal immigrants, and the people are starting to feel overwhelmed. I think of a British friend of mine who married a Taiwanese wife, but because her personal income did not meet the government’s requirements, she could not apply for legal status for her to come to the UK to settle down, so the family could only live in Taiwan. Honest British citizens cannot return to live in the UK, while those illegal immigrants are taken care of properly, and from time to time, human rights organizations complain to the government, arguing that “the human rights of illegal immigrants have not been upheld.” It took me many years to accept such a weird British reality.
After so many years of kind treatment, now that the British citizens can’t bear it, this gives the government the power to act, or forces the government to take action to solve these years of persistent illnesses—— originally provided for refugees who have suffered political oppression in various countries Human rights support is now being abused by the underworld in various countries, smuggling illegal immigrants who have paid money from France to the UK one by one. “My policy is very simple, it should be up to this country and your (British nationals) government to decide who comes here, not criminal gangs,” Sunak said.
When Johnson was still in office last year, he said that these illegal immigrants would be sent to Rwanda, but it has never been implemented. As a result, more and more small boats risked their lives to cross the English Channel, and there were still tragedies from time to time. However, Britain has become a human rights protection country in the hearts of people in many countries. They know that as long as they set foot on that land, they will definitely have enough food and clothing. It was also revealed last year that Albanians were also illegally entering the UK boat by boat. Albania is a European country. Although it is not rich, none of its nationals have been persecuted by the government and have no reason to come to the UK to seek asylum. This is a complete abuse of the UK’s benevolent refugee protection policy. As Sunak said in his speech: “In the past two years, the number of people entering the UK illegally by small boat has more than quadrupled. Those who illegally cross the English Channel are not directly fleeing a war-torn country… or Fleeing persecution…or an imminent threat to their lives. They travel through safe European countries. They pay stowaways huge sums to make this dangerous and sometimes tragic journey. The reason criminal gangs continue to bring their small boats here Yes, they know our system can be exploited…once here…Illegal immigrants can make massive asylum, modern slavery, and bogus human rights claims to keep themselves from being deported. Also, there is still the possibility of these people disappearing into black in the economy.”
Given that most stowaways embark from France, stopping them from sailing off the French coast would directly reduce the number of illegal entries. Sunak said: “I have reached the largest ever small vessel deal with France. Patrols on French beaches have increased by 40%.” British Home Secretary Sura Braverman said: “Our joint deal with France Work prevented nearly 33,000 Channel crossings in 2022, compared to just over 23,000 in 2021.”
I have lived in the UK for nearly 20 years, and now I have also been trained to want to draw a knife to help when I see a humanitarian crisis. The British government’s introduction of the “Stop the Ship Act” is a preventive measure after the abuse of humanity, because the UK will continue its humanitarian aid policy. Braverman was adamant about introducing the Stop Ships Bill, but insisted: “Britain will always be a compassionate country, as evidenced by the country opening up its hearts and homes to those fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. .Under the Bill, Parliament will set an annual cap on the number of refugees resettled through safe and legal pathways, taking into account local authority capacity in housing, public services and community support.”
Now, both Ukraine and Afghanistan are listed by the British government as countries that legally accept refugee applications. Hong Kong is sometimes included in the list, but the immigrants from Hong Kong all bring their own funds. In the past two years, about 150,000 immigrants entered the country. Home Office estimates put the net gain to government coffers at between £2.4bn and £2.9bn over five years due to the arrival of highly skilled migrants from Hong Kong. It’s not the same thing as the poor, homeless refugees in Ukraine and Afghanistan who often need subsidies from the British taxpayer, although the British may not know the difference.
Hong Kong’s new immigrants also seem a little overwhelmed, not knowing whether they are immigrants or refugees. And if they want to prove that they have a different immigration status from Afghanistan and Ukraine, they must fight on their own. It took me nearly 20 years to get a basic understanding of British politics and society. I know that here and China are completely different things. Except for the common language of trade and technology in the past, other aspects of communication are “chicken and duck talk”. But the British media don’t bother to know about my experience, because so far no British media is interested in my experience. One explanation I can find is that white people in the West are dismissive of the feelings of people of color who were once racially discriminated against, until the minorities began to fight hard and made a famous BLM movement in the United States. Now, if British and Western whites still dare to say that they don’t understand racial discrimination, they are already politically backward and morally injustice. My experience in the past 20 years and the difficulty of integrating into British society, if I want the British to be interested in understanding, only through the joint campaign of me and other immigrants can it be possible to be valued by the British society. For one’s own rights, one must campaign, fight, and gain the largest possible support. This is common sense in life in the UK.
Back to the issue of illegal immigration, this new law, which seems to benefit the country and the people, has been questioned by the opposition Labor Party and the United Nations. The leader of the Labor Party, Starmer, accused the “Stopping the Ship Bill” for the purpose of winning votes for the Conservative Party in the May local elections; the UNHCR expressed “deep concern” about the bill. It is easy to understand that as a country that cares for refugees from all over the world, if the UK lowers its care standards and reduces the number of refugees it accepts, it will increase the difficulty of UNHCR’s work. But how to define refugees is too controversial. The reality that the UK is facing is that too many people pretend to be refugees, and the smuggling of refugees has become a highly profitable black market business.
But the Stop Ships Act still faces two problems. First, the British are known for being strict and law-abiding (I still find it unbelievable!), those smugglers do not have such a modern awareness, they all know that the British government is too benevolent, as long as they can enter the UK, the British government will not put themselves in regardless of. Therefore, whether this bill can reduce the number of smuggled immigrants as expected is still a question mark. Second, even Braverman, the Home Secretary, has publicly acknowledged that the legislation may not be in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. Sunak also knows that this bill may be challenged in the future, or even taken to court. “We believe it is lawful and our actions are consistent with our international obligations,” he told a news conference in Downing Street, adding that his laws would remain within the bounds of the European Convention on Human Rights but If challenged, “we will fight for it because we believe we are doing the right thing and meeting our obligations … but we are confident that we will win.”
(Note: This article only represents the author’s personal opinion. The editor’s email address is [email protected])