What a brawl at a rally against Asian hate and the BN(O) influx of Hongkongers can tell us about political fires between Chinese groups in the UK
- Experts warn there may be more confrontations between pro-Beijing groups and newly arrived Hong Kong immigrants over differing political views
- Hostility towards Hongkongers on social media and in the streets in recent months has caused them to feel insecure in their new home, says manager of group helping new arrivals to Britain
Experts have warned there could be more confrontations between pro-Beijing groups and newly arrived Hong Kong immigrants, as established Chinese organisations are dealing with an influx of people holding different political views.
On Saturday, an anti-Asian hate rally was held in London’s Chinatown, organised by the Min Quan Legal Centre, the Monitoring Group and the Federation of UK Fujian Chinese, with several organisations including the London Chinatown Chinese Association supporting the event.
A leaflet for the rally accused government leaders of using “anti-China rhetoric during the pandemic”, culminating in violence against Chinese people and communities.
In the first three months of 2020, according to British police, there were at least 267 recorded hate crimes against Chinese, East Asian and Southeast Asian people in Britain, compared with 375 in the whole of 2019.
Organisers said on social media that the rally was a peaceful anti-racism gathering, accusing a counter-group of heckling them.
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Fight breaks out in London’s Chinatown at rally to combat racism against Asians
Jabez Lam, manager of the Hackney Chinese Community Services, which has been assisting new arrivals from Hong Kong, said the violence erupted after the rally had finished. Lam, who was at the event, said a group of about six men had charged at the retreating Hong Kong group.
A brawl then ensued before police intervened. Several people were injured.
In a statement to the Post, the Metropolitan Police said they were investigating a report of an assault which had occurred at about 2.15pm on Saturday on Gerrard Street.
“A 19-year-old man reported being assaulted by a group of men. Inquiries are ongoing. There have been no arrests,” the force said.
Suresh Grover, director of the Monitoring Group, a community-based anti-racism organisation, said in a statement that none of its members who attended the event were involved in violence, had been arrested or held in custody.
“We oppose any form of violence either by the state, social groups or individuals during protests.We believe in the right to protest and an extension of human rights in every society,” he said.
Victor Gao, a chair professor at Soochow University in mainland China, said the protesters from Hong Kong had “hijacked” an approved rally for their own agenda and bore “more responsibility for the fistfights”.
Gao said Chinese diaspora members in Britain were a diverse group, but had more in common “than what separates them”.
“They may have different political views, but they need to express their views by abiding by the rule of law,” he said.
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The national security legislation was imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in June last year to outlaw acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. This was followed by a shake-up of the city’s electoral system in March to ensure only “patriots” could hold public office.
Jabez Lam from the Hackney Chinese Community Services said he had observed hostility from some Chinese community groups towards Hongkongers on social media and in the streets in recent months in the form of verbal abuse, as well as physical attacks.
“The effect of such hostilities is causing disharmony in community relations, damage to community cohesion, and the Hong Kong community living in fear and feeling insecure in their new home,” he said.
On October 1, during China’s National Day, Hong Kong activists protesting in London were among those who staged a pro-democracy march and burned a Chinese flag outside the country’s embassy in Marylebone. They had also set off flares with smoke.
In 2019, a 19-year-old man was arrested in Sheffield after clashes among students who were protesting and calling for democracy in Hong Kong. In the same year, eggs were thrown at people gathering to attend a concert by Canto-pop singer and political activist Denise Ho Wan-sze, as opposing crowds waved Chinese flags and shouted pro-Beijing slogans.
Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said historically the Chinese communities of Britain had come from Hong Kong because of the colonial connection. However, the mainland Chinese immigrant community had grown faster in recent years and was now bigger.
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Benedict Rogers, founder of the Hong Kong Watch (HKW) group, said some Chinese organisations with close ties to the Chinese embassy regarded arriving Hongkongers in Britain as political opponents, and “for that reason are very hostile towards them”.
With the January 31 introduction by the UK of the BN(O) visa scheme in response to Beijing’s imposition of the national security law, some 88,900 Hongkongers have applied for the pathway to citizenship, of which 76,176 have been approved.
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The scheme allows those with BN(O) status and their dependants to live, work and study in Britain for up to five years, and to apply for citizenship after six.
“It is regrettable but not surprising that an incident like what happened in Chinatown in London over the weekend materialised,” Tsang said.
“This makes this kind of confrontation potentially more likely if not policed well,” he added.
