People-smugglers have been forced to cut their prices by a third as their illegal business struggles in the wake of the Dover tragedy.
In June this year, 58 Chinese IIs were found dead inside a container truck in the southern England port of Dover. They had no identity documents, hampering efforts to establish who they were.
At least three people have been charged with criminal offences in connection with the deaths.
In its latest issue, the Guangzhou newspaper Southern Weekend reported the price charged by snakeheads - those involved in smuggling people out of the country - had fallen. The price of taking a person from Fujian, the home province of most of the 58, had fallen from 180,000 yuan (HK$169,200) in the first half of the year to 150,000 yuan in September and 120,000 now. But even at that price, there are not many takers.
'The Dover tragedy has had a big impact in Fujian,' said Li Xin, director of sociology at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences. 'It showed people the risks of taking such a journey, and that their security is not guaranteed. As a result, the Chinese Government has stepped up its fight against the smuggling of people. Its attitude is very clear.'
Southern Weekend said that the number of people in Fujian wanting to be smuggled abroad had dropped sharply since the first half of the year, as people absorbed the lessons of Dover.
It said that all but two of the 58 were from Fujian, including 28 from Fuqing, 23 from Changle, two from Lianjiang and one each from Pingtan, Fuzhou and Mawei. The identity of the other two is not known.