Reporters look at the world! Hello everyone, I am Liang Tao, a correspondent of the General Taiwan Station in the United Kingdom.
In recent days, one of the most concerned news in the UK is whether the British government plans to deport the first batch of illegal immigrants to rwanda will still take off.
Originally, the British Home Office planned the flight to take off on the night of the 14th local time, but due to the emergency intervention issued by the European Court of Human Rights at the last minute before take-off, the flight was successfully stopped.
Flights to Rwanda where the British government planned to deport illegal migrants were urgently halted
So, what is Britain's calculation for transferring illegal migrants to Rwanda? How has this repercussions in the UK? How might the event follow?
Can refugees also "outsource"?
In fact, there have been illegal immigrants from France and other EU countries on small boats, through the English Channel smuggled to the United Kingdom, in order to solve this thorny problem, the British government decided to make a "deal".
In April, Britain signed an agreement with Rwanda to deport illegal migrants who have arrived in the UK this year. According to the British government, the repatriation scheme will dispel the minds of those trying to smuggle and will provide an opportunity for those who have already smuggled to "start a new life" in Rwanda. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the explanation that Britain's "compassion is unlimited, but the ability to help others is limited".
Refugee policy has drawn a lot of criticism
The "refugee charter flight" was urgently stopped, and a stone stirred up thousands of waves. British public opinion generally believes that this is a major and embarrassing blow for Johnson. In April, the United Kingdom paid the Rwandan government up to 120 million pounds, or about 1 billion yuan, to reach a refugee resettlement agreement, and now it has only rented a jet and has not yet been able to take off, such a policy is very costly, and it can be said that the large amount of money that taxpayers have provided to the government has been wasted.
No wonder Prime Minister Johnson was so angry that he threatened to withdraw britain from the European Convention on Human Rights and accused lawyers of helping criminals exploit refugees in the English Channel. Because the European Court of Human Rights eventually suspended the Flight of the British Home Office, the cause was an appeal filed by a lawyer representing the refugees on the day of departure.
The European Court of Human Rights' decision, based on counsel involving an Iraqi man on the removal list, held that the judicial review process before the British courts had not yet reached a final decision and that the man could not be deported for three weeks after the decision was made.
The judicial review process refers to the uk's High Court scheduled for a formal hearing in July to confirm the legality of the government's policy of deporting stowaways to Rwanda. Immigration advocacy groups have called on Johnson's administration to decide whether to implement the plan after the hearings are concluded.
Priti Patel, the Johnson administration's home secretary, said she was disappointed by the European Court of Human Rights' ruling. But she also noted that the UK government's legal team is also reviewing every decision about flying and is starting to prepare for the next flight.
On June 15, local time, Reporter Liang Tao made a live report on the british dispatch of refugees to Rwanda
However, the British government's approach has also continued to arouse many critical voices in the United Kingdom. The mainstream media in the United Kingdom have been accusing the British government of this plan almost unanimously in the past two days, and the british government's plan is "unacceptable" and that the act of completely dumping vulnerable groups to other countries is very sad and chilling.
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary of the Labour Party, Britain's largest opposition party, has been harshly critical of the Johnson administration's policies. He pointed out that the Johnson government must take responsibility for the failed flight, said Labour Shadow Culture Minister Lucy. Powell also said that The Labour Party believes that this deportation policy is not feasible, first of all, the policy is very costly, and the policy is very "inhumane" and reflects naked racism.
In addition, many politicians and business people in the United Kingdom have also condemned the British government's policy, pointing out that the government has not tried to "understand the plight of the deportees", whether the first flight carrying illegal immigrants leaves the United Kingdom for Rwanda or not, which is an "immoral policy that shames the United Kingdom".
On June 13, local time, people arranging demonstrations outside the British Prime Minister's Office on the repatriation of refugees (Photo by Liang Tao)
Can a cancelled flight take off again?
However, it is understood that just this week the deportation flight took off, more than 270 people were smuggled from the English Channel to the United Kingdom, making the number of illegal stowaways in the Straits more than 10,500 this year. It seems that the problem of smuggling in the Straits is indeed a persistent disease that britain has been incuring for a long time, and I wonder whether the Johnson government will continue to act willfully?
The above is the observation of Liang Tao, a reporter of the General Station in the United Kingdom, in the local area.
The author of this issue of "Reporters From the General Station Looks at the World" is Liang Tao, a reporter of the General Station in the United Kingdom
(From the Voice of China column "Reporters From the General Station Look at the World")
Producer 丨 Zhang Chengxia
Reporter 丨Liang Tao
Edited by 丨 Yang Bo