PRESS INVITATION 採訪通知 06/08/2018
Chinese Community to meet with Immigration Enforcement Officials after the Largest Protest in Chinatown 英國華人代表與移民局官員會面
Date日期: Monday 06/08/2018
Meeting Time會議時間：1pm – 2pm
Expected Time for Interview預計訪問時間: 2pm – 3pm
Location地點: Home Office. 2 Marsham St, Westminster, London SW1P 4DF
Media Contact媒體查詢: Joseph Wu 07788138888 / media@lccauk.com
Chinese Community leaders will be available for interviews after the meeting with senior officials at the Home Office today. Please RSVP to register your interest. Expected time for interviews: 2PM.
英國華人代表今日與移民局官員會面後將於內政部外接受媒體訪問。有意採訪者請提前報名，以便安排。預計訪問時間：下午二時。謝謝。
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 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.
List of attendees for the meeting are as follows:
Chinese Community:
- CT Tang OBE, Chair of London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA)
- Edmond Yeo JP, Chair of Chinese information & Advice Centre
- Bobby Chan, The Monitoring Group / Minquan
- Kevin Tsang, President, Confederation of Chinese Associations UK
- Lady Xuelin Li Bates, Chair, Zhejiang UK Association
- Simon Woolley, Director, Operation Black Vote
- Suresh Grover, The Monitoring Group
- David Tang, First Vice President, London Chinatown Chinese Association
- Joseph Wu, Chief Executive of Chinese Information & Advice Centre
Home Office:
- Tony Eastaugh, Director of Crime and Enforcement
- Peter Clark, Director of Enforcement, London & South
- Robin Misir, National Engagement Lead for Chinese 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?
The Justice for Chinatown protest was organised by the London Chinatown Chinese Association and was supported by the Chinese Information & Advice Centre and the monitoring Group/Minquan
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 concerns 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.
Joseph Wu, Chief Executive of Chinese Information & Advise Centre, and one of the spokesmen 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
英國華人今日將與移民局會面
會後華人代表將接受媒體訪問
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，警方發表聲明表示歉意，並承諾將會加強溝通。倫敦華埠商會及英國華人代表將於今日 (8月6日)下午一時與英國移民局官員官員會面，商討華人關注的問題。
出席會議的代表名單如下：
英國華人代表：
- 倫敦華埠商會主席鄧柱廷OBE
- 華人資料及諮詢中心主席楊慶權地方法官
- 英國監警組/民權 陳運忠
- 全英華人社團聯合總會會長曾嘉民
- 英國浙江會主席貝茨勛爵夫人李雪琳
- 黑人投票行動聯合創始人伍利 (Simon Woolley)
- 英國監警組格羅佛 (Suresh Grover)
- 倫敦華埠商會首席副會長 鄧漢聲律師
- 倫敦華埠商會發言人兼華人資料及諮詢中心行政總監胡沛成
內政部:
- 移民局罪案及執法部總管伊斯托(Tony Eastaugh)
- 移民局執法部倫敦及英國南部總管克拉克(Peter Clark)
- 移民局執法部華人社區關系主管羅賓(Robin Misir)
7月5日倫敦華埠因移民局人員粗暴執法，引起與華人對峙的嚴重事故。倫敦華埠於上周二(7月24日)罷市5小時抗議粗暴執法，要求內政部正視移民執法人員長久以來對華人餐飲業歧視性的釣魚式搜捕行為。華人餐飲業同時要求內政部正視勞工短缺的問題，放寬勞工簽證。
英國華人抗議粗暴執法罷市大行動由倫敦華埠商會發起，獲華人資料及諮詢中心、監警組/民權及英國眾多華人社團支持。
大倫敦警隊西敏斯特區總督察布里坦發表聲明表示：警方於2018年7月5日接報前往倫敦華埠處理一宗糾紛事件。警方已知悉警員當日最初的處理手法受到社區人士關注。 警方承諾將與華人社區就事件展開調查，找出可以改善的地方。調查由駐西敏市科林 · 坦納(Colin Tanner)督察領導，將確保華人的訴求獲得充分的回應，並會向涉事的同僚反映。調查亦將探討日後的執法行動如何與相關隊伍合作及一致性。
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：西敏市警隊將會成立地區委員會，舉行每月例會，報告調查的進展，探討方案，加強與華埠及社區的關係。他並感謝倫敦華埠商會、華人資料及諮詢中心及民權/監警組與的支持及協助，改善警方與當地社區的關係。
倫敦華埠商會主席鄧柱廷OBE對警方的回應表示歡迎，希望有助改善警隊日後執法的操守。他又希望移民局官員回應華人的訴求，澄清新牌照條例179條的執行機制，搜查行動如不再需要向法院申請搜查令，移民局的權力如何受到監控。他認為移民局的車輛在7月5日事件中撞向聾啞的老婦，粗暴執法，罔顧安全，危及他人性命，是嚴重的失職行為，希望移民局作出回應，還華人一個公道。
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，而不單是空談。他又希望與移民局官員的會面有進展，緩解與華人的緊張關係。
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Media Enquiries傳媒查詢：Joseph Wu 胡沛成
Tel & Whatsapp: + 44 (0) 7788 138888
Email: media@lccauk.com / ceo@ciac.co.uk
Personal Email: jwu212@gmail.com
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圖片說明：「文化中國•水立方杯」海外華人中文歌曲大賽英國賽區組委會宜佈賽事詳情。英國賽會將設青年組及公開組，由十二歲至六十五歲的參賽者均有機會一展所長。
圖片說明：水立方杯中文歌曲大賽的優勝者將有機會到北京參加為期三周的音樂夏令營，除了接受舞臺培訓外，還會實地探訪首都名勝，並親身體驗中國的傳統文化。
