Chinese nationals call on Jack for protection

The shooting deaths of Chinese-born businesswoman Wu Xia Hua and her husband Yang Jiang Hua, during a robbery on Thursday, has sparked a public outcry from Chinese nationals, who are calling on National Security Minister Jack Warner to protect them. The call came after Xia Hua, 60, and her husband Yang Jiang Hua, 59, were shot at Tiger's Chinese Restaurant and Bar at 30 Southern Main Road, Cunupia. Xia Hua died on the spot and Jiang Hua died hours later at hospital. The China Society and affiliated groups, Sun Wai Association, Toy Shan Association, Fui Tong On Association, Chinese Civic Association, Chinese Association of T&T, St Ann’s, and Chung Shan Association have scheduled an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss mounting crimes against the Chinese community. President of the China Society Yung Gen Siu said too many Chinese nationals were being targeted. Secretary of the China Society Michael Lee said many of the crimes against his fellow countrymen went unreported.

Lee said at Saturday’s meeting, the society planned to draft a letter to Warner outlining the concerns of the Chinese community. “There is a lot of crime facing us. The local Chinese cannot speak English properly, so when they get robbed they don’t know how to deal with that. Many of them do not report the robbery,” Lee said.“They do not know how to do the follow-up after the robbery.”

 

Lee explained that the Chinese community was also  concerned with the crimes committed against everyone in T&T, adding that it was businesspeople generally who were being targeted by the criminals. Lee said over 20,000 Chinese lived and worked in T&T and there was a need to educate those who did business so  they would be prepared to deal with crime. Lee said he did not believe that Chinese nationals were contemplating leaving T&T’s shores because of the crime situation, adding that woull also be discussed at Saturday’s meeting. Meanwhile, first vice president of Toy Shang Association, Robert Chin Ching, said crime was a scourge facing the entire world. He said a preventative system must be put in place to deal with the situation. Chin Ching denied that Chinese nationals were the specific target of criminals.

 

He said: “It is all business owners who must be protected because not only the Chinese are affected. Crime is a national problem.” He said the Chinese nationals were not calling for special treatment. “What we want is for the minister to work with us,” Chin Ching said. He said the Chinese were very community-oriented and agreed that language barriers and cultural differences were hindering the reporting of crimes against their community. He said some nationals were thinking about closing up their businesses in protest against crime. Chinese Ambassador Yang Youming also expressed shock and horror at the killing of two of his countrymen at their business place in Cunupia last Thursday. He appealed to Government to take all necessary measures and precautions to ensure the safety of the lives of the Chinese community and their properties.