Press Release 新聞稿 (即時發佈 For Immediate Release)
Immigration Enforcement to meet with Chinese Community after 5 HOUR STRIKE in Chinatown
Met Police issued statement with pledges to strengthen engagement with the local community
Immigration Enforcement to meet with Chinese Community after 5 HOUR STRIKE in Chinatown
Met Police issued statement with pledges to strengthen engagement with the local community
(Please Scoll Down for English 請向下瀏覽閱讀中文版本)
倫敦華埠千人罷市抗粗暴執法
警方向華人道歉承諾加強溝通移民局下周一與華人代表會面
02/08/2018
Senior Officers of Immigration Enforcement will meet with the Chinese community on Monday 6th August 2018 (1pm) in response to the biggest protest in London’s Chinatown on 24th July 2018. Chinatown was shutdown completely to protest the discriminatory conduct of immigration and police officers during and following a raid by immigration officers on a restaurant on Thursday 5th July 2018, which it resulted in a deaf Chinese woman being taken to the hospital. Since that incident, the Chinese community has been seeking dialogues with the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police to address their serious concerns.
02/08/2018
Senior Officers of Immigration Enforcement will meet with the Chinese community on Monday 6th August 2018 (1pm) in response to the biggest protest in London’s Chinatown on 24th July 2018. Chinatown was shutdown completely to protest the discriminatory conduct of immigration and police officers during and following a raid by immigration officers on a restaurant on Thursday 5th July 2018, which it resulted in a deaf Chinese woman being taken to the hospital. Since that incident, the Chinese community has been seeking dialogues with the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police to address their serious concerns.
移民局下周一與華人代表會面
02/08/2018
Senior Officers of Immigration Enforcement will meet with the Chinese community on Monday 6th August 2018 (1pm) in response to the biggest protest in London’s Chinatown on 24th July 2018. Chinatown was shutdown completely to protest the discriminatory conduct of immigration and police officers during and following a raid by immigration officers on a restaurant on Thursday 5th July 2018, which it resulted in a deaf Chinese woman being taken to the hospital. Since that incident, the Chinese community has been seeking dialogues with the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police to address their serious concerns.
02/08/2018
Senior Officers of Immigration Enforcement will meet with the Chinese community on Monday 6th August 2018 (1pm) in response to the biggest protest in London’s Chinatown on 24th July 2018. Chinatown was shutdown completely to protest the discriminatory conduct of immigration and police officers during and following a raid by immigration officers on a restaurant on Thursday 5th July 2018, which it resulted in a deaf Chinese woman being taken to the hospital. Since that incident, the Chinese community has been seeking dialogues with the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police to address their serious concerns.
The following statement has been issued by Chief Inspector Brittain, Metropolitan Police, Westminster.
“On 5th July 2018, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service were called to reports of a disturbance within the Chinatown district. The Met is aware the initial response by officers had caused concern within the local community and is committed to working with the community to review the incident and identify where improvements can be made. The review will be led by Insp Colin Tanner from Westminster Borough who will ensure that the concerns of the Chinese community are fully addressed and fed back to all the officers concerned. The review will involve work with other partners involved in the operation to ensure more joined up and consistent working in the future.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my regret for the upset that this activity has caused in the local community and as a direct result the Westminster team has agreed to instigate a monthly ward panel through which we can feed back the outcome of this review and identify strategies to strengthen our engagement with the local Chinatown community. I would also like to thank the London Chinatown Chinese Association(LCCA), the Chinese Information & Advice Centre (CIAC) and the Monitoring Group/MinQuan for their support and assistance with engaging with the local community.”
Mr CT Tang OBE, Chair of LCCA welcomes the statement from the Police and hope that important lessons will be learnt. He feels that it is imperative for the Home Office to work closely with the local police so they have a better understanding of the community before their operation. He would also like to discuss the community cocerns over Immigration officials citing Section 179 of the amended Licensing Act 2003 in their recent operations in Chinatown. Many restaurants feel this new provision, by the Immigration Act 2016, is a way to bypass the “Warrant” system which has been in place for many years. Many fear that without the courts to approve the warrants, immigration operations will no longer be subject to proper checks and balances.
Mr Edmond Yeo JP, Chair of the Chinese Information & Advice Centre also welcomes the Police efforts to repair the relationship with the community but wants to make sure future meetings do not just become talking shops. Yeo was devastated by the unfortunate incident of July 5th when an elderly Chinese woman was seen to be in front of an Immigration enforcement van moving forward. He feels that the authorities must engage with the community more to ensure such like incidents would not be allowed to happen again to stoke the catalyst of emotions, negative feelings & sensitivity of the community.
Key concerns of the Chinese community include:
* Why did the raid take place days after a roundtable meeting instigated by immigration officials to engage with the community and to build trust & goodwill with the business & community leaders?
* Why were the community concerns raised at the meeting ignored so blatantly?
* There are serious questions about the legality of the fishing raid: we now know the immigration officers left a notice (under Section 179 of the Licensing Act) in the targeted restaurant without explaining what it meant.
* However, licensing enforcement is the responsibility of the Local Council and not of the Immigration Department. We seek urgent clarification on whether the trusted Warrant procedures will now be abandoned.
* Why did the police disregard the protesting woman’s safety and welfare, given her serious disabilities?
Joseph Wu, Chief Executive of Chinese Information & Advisor, and one of the spokeman for London Chinatown Chinese Association says, “London’s Chinatown is a vital component of London’s economy and a major tourist and cultural attraction. Its members have the right to be treated with respect and dignity and will not tolerate aggressive or discriminatory behaviour from enforcement agencies.”
倫敦華埠千人罷市抗粗暴執法
警方向華人道歉承諾加強溝通
移民局下周一與華人代表會面
倫敦華埠商會7月24發起千人示威大遊行抗議粗暴執法後，
大倫敦警隊西敏斯特區總督察布里坦發表聲明表示：
他又向華人社區就這次事件帶來的不愉快表示歉意。他表示：
倫敦華埠商會主席鄧柱廷OBE對警方的回應表示歡迎，
華人資料及諮詢中心主席楊慶權地方法官表示：歡迎警方的回應， 積極修補與華人的關係，他希望與警方日後的會議可取得實際成果，
7月5日倫敦華埠因移民局人員粗暴執法，
英國華人抗議粗暴執法罷市大行動由倫敦華埠商會發起，獲華人資料
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