Chinese citizens have expressed shock, anger and outrage over the deaths of 39 people found in a lorry in the UK and believed to be Chinese nationals, in a case experts suspect is linked to human trafficking.

Chinese officials said on Friday that they were still working to confirm the identities of eight women and 31 men discovered in the back of a refrigerated trailer in Essex on Wednesday. The Chinese embassy in London said it was in close contact with the British police.

“This is a shocking tragedy. We express our deep condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” the embassy told Chinese media on Friday, adding that it expected the UK side would respect the dead and “conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation.”

On Friday, Chinese state media criticised UK authorities for failing to prevent a repeat of a similar grisly scenario, when 58 Chinese citizens were found dead in a container in Dover, suffocated to death, in 2000.

In an editorial headlined, “The UK must bear responsibility,” the often nationalist tabloid Global Times wrote: “Imagine what thorough measures European countries would take if dozens of Europeans died in the same way? Let me ask Britain and the European government why they failed to avoid a similar tragedy after the Dover tragedy? Did they take all the serious remedial action that they could have?”

An outspoken commentator and editor of the Global Times, Hu Xijin wrote on the microblog Weibo on Thursday night: “This isn’t the first time this has happened,” referring to the Dover deaths as well as when at least 21 Chinese migrants picking cockles drowned on the coast of the UK in 2004.

Two journeys into one: how lorry driver and Chinese nationals reached Essex Read more

He wrote: “I don’t know if these incidents are connected to the social governance of the UK, but these humanitarian disasters continue to happen in the UK … a simple question: why do these disasters always happen in the UK and not Europe or America?”

News of the lorry deaths dominated debate on Chinese social media, with more than 800 million views and 40,000 comments. The news occupied three of the top 10 most discussed topics on Weibo, with internet users expressing confusion and disbelief.

“Heartbreaking. Even as I’m typing now my hands are shaking. Please find out the truth,” one user said, in response to reports that the victims may have frozen to death in the refrigerator unit, in temperatures as low as -25C (-13F). “This is horrifying. It deserves serious investigation and serious punishment,” another wrote.

“Why are people still risking their lives when China is constantly improving?” one user said. “I can’t believe there is still such a large-scale of smuggling of Chinese to the UK,” another said. “Life in China is quite good now. Why are people still choosing to be smuggled? Do they think everything is free in other countries?” one netizen responded.

Tian Ma, a research fellow at Utrecht University whose studies focus on Chinese victims of trafficking says a slowing Chinese economy could be pushing more people to make the journey. A prolonged trade war with the US as well as decreased spending within the country, has hit Chinese workers, farmers, and small and medium sized businesses the hardest.

“The fundamental reason is the economic gap. That is the major pull factor. If you look at the average salary in the UK compared to small cities in China, the gap is huge,” said Ma. “Based on my research some are being trapped in debt bondage or because of a loan shark. They have been pushed to a point where they have to leave China.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A farmer pushes his tricycle loaded with firewood along a track on the outskirts of Beijing Photograph: David Gray/REUTERS

Yet, Chinese emigration is not always linked to poverty. Historically, Chinese migrants in Europe came from provinces such as Fujian and Guangdong, among the richest parts of the country – with illegal migration routes believed to have been established in the 1980s and 2000s by “snakeheads” Chinese organised criminal groups.

In some cases, people have been tricked into or coerced into making the trip. Smugglers often lure clients with offers of work in the destination country. Chinese women have traditionally been among the most affected. They made up the largest proportion of women held in immigration detention in the UK in 2018.

China-UK people trafficking often driven by debt, experts say Read more

“Their stories of exploitation and abuse are among the most shocking I have ever heard in more than a decade of working with asylum seeking women,” said Natasha Walter of Women for Refugee Women.

As authorities enforce migration controls more strictly and traditional channels are cut off, many turn to extreme measures. “People turn to brokers or other facilitators when other more regular forms of movement aren’t possible,” said Jade Anderson, head of research at the Justice Centre in Hong Kong.

Researchers say irregular Chinese migrants are especially vulnerable to human trafficking. Chinese men, women and children are exploited through forced labour and sex trafficking in at least 60 other countries, working in restaurants, agriculture, shops, factories, as well as brothels and massage parlours operated by overseas Chinese communities, according to the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US State Department. Many end up indebted to their traffickers or abused by employers in the destination country who exploit their illegal status.

Yet, little is known about trafficking and illegal migration from China to Europe. There are few Chinese NGOs and researchers working on the issue. Some critics say the Chinese government has shown little appetite in addressing the problem and that existing laws to prevent human trafficking are not enough.

“Instead of merely pointing the finger at the UK government, and accusing it of having not done enough to save the lives of the 39 people, the Chinese government should address the issue about why people from China would still take such a great risk to leave the country,” said Patrick Poon, a researcher for Amnesty International’s East Asia office.

To some Chinese, the incident has underlined how uneventhe country’s economic growth has been, leaving it with one of the highest rates of inequality in the world. Days before the discovery of the 39 dead, Credit Suisse released a study showing that wealthy Chinese now outnumber their counterparts in the US.

“Illegal migration still exists. The gap between the rich and the poor in China is too wide, and good jobs are too hard to find. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people compete for a job as public servant, while the poor Chinese work for 4-5,000 yuan a month to support their parents and their children,” one Weibo user said.

“If they succeed [in migrating] they can earn a couple of thousands of pounds a month which more than tens of thousands of renminbi. So some people will take the risk.”

Additional reporting by Lillian Yang

