Chinese Embassy Issues Statement on the Dover Tragedy
The Chinese Embassy in the U.K. issued a statement on June 21 on the Dover tragedy. The statement reads as follows:
The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the U.K. pays much attention to and is very much concerned about the tragic incident of 58 illegal immigrants found dead at the port of Dover, and wish to express our heartfelt condolences on the death of the victims. On June 20, the British police informed the Chinese Embassy of its initial confirmation that the two survivors are Chinese and its belief that the victims are probably also from China. The Embassy has requested that a serious investigation into this tragedy be conducted by the British authorities and that the backstage manipulators be brought to justice. The Embassy is ready to cooperate closely with the British side in handling the aftermath of this incident appropriately.
The Chinese Government consistently opposes human trafficking and illegal immigration in whatever form and firmly condemns the evil, money-motivated act of the gangs of human traffickers who paid no heed of the victimĦĦlives. It is much to be regretted and grieved that the illegal immigrants readily believed what the snakeheads said and took the risk which cost them their lives. We wish to express our solicitude to the families of the victims.
The Chinese Government is willing to coordinate with all foreign governments concerned in jointly cracking down on such transnational criminal activities.