More and more information indicates that there are likely to be many Vietnamese among the 39 stowaways who died in the container in Grays, Essex. According to the latest media reports, more than 100 migrants sneaked into the United Kingdom in three container trucks, among which only one had been found and the whereabouts of the other two are still unknown. When the tragedy was first exposed, the victims were regarded as Chinese nationals due to lack of information, which was understandable as there was once a wave of smuggling to Europe from some places along the southeastern coast of China. The phenomenon of human trafficking in those areas, however, gradually subsided with decades of rapid development in China, and this problem has been progressively resolved to a large extent. This is also a fact.
It is unacceptable that the UK and other Western media pointed all the criticism at China after the tragedy, but they did not question or blame the UK or Europe, where the incident happened. In a briefing of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, CNN even used this serious humanitarian disaster to ridicule the achievements summarized during the recent ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This was an unbelievable act that links specific events with obsessive values instead of analytical thinking. The Western media also asserted that criminal gangs from East China traffic people to the UK, intending to deepen the impression of China being responsible for this tragedy. However, regardless of where the organized crime gangs responsible for people trafficking came from, the main locations where they committed crimes were in Europe. Every link in the chain of international human smuggling needs to be smashed, but the UK and other European countries involved should take the major responsibility for the crackdown. Needless to say the UK arrested five suspects, all British, in recent days.
It can be said that the Western media is really keen to turn such an incident into gimmicks to attack and smear China. We do not know whether the CNN reporter who asked the question or the Western journalists who have written articles jeering at China’s achievements in construction are feeling upset over their rash behavior and assumptions. They might not care as they have done too many similar things that will not be investigated by their institutions and be soon forgotten by their audiences. Nonetheless, the tragic death of 39 people shocked Chinese society. To further manage illegal immigration, China should specifically narrow the welfare gap between domestic and Western societies to steadily eradicate human smuggling in China. This is the belief China must establish. Western media persons should pay high attention to the imbalance of development between the West and other countries and encourage the reduction of such unevenness rather than help solidify the development gap and hand the responsibility for 39 lives over to the developing countries.
