By M.R.J. Soudijn.

Introduction. Although human smuggling is not exclusive to one particular ethnic group, a few notorious incidents have focused much attention on the smuggling of Chinese nationals for years. In June 1993, for example, the cargo ship “Golden Venture” ran aground off the US coast near New York. It carried 286 Chinese illegal immigrants on board. Several drowned when they tried to swim ashore but were overcome by the cold water. The ensuing investigation revealed that conditions on board were abominable and accounts of the horrors the passengers suffered during the journey found their way to the media. In later years similar transports were discovered (Wang, 1996). This drew attention to the smuggling of Chinese people in particular in the United States. The so-called Dover tragedy caused a similar uproar in Europe. On 19 June 2000 a cargo truck was found in Dover containing the bodies of 58 Chinese nationals who had died of suffocation. Only two survived the journey. The investigations and prosecutions that followed exposed a large group of human smugglers in the Netherlands.

Leiden: Leiden University, 2006. 179p.