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IRR > European Race Bulletin > United Kingdom > Violence and harassment

Race, robbery and the Chinese community

By Liz Fekete

1 December 1996

The Chinese community in Northern Ireland is being victimised.

While the primary motive for attacks is robbery, racism lies behind the reasons why the Chinese are targeted in the first place.

Increase in attacks

According to a study published by the Centre for the Study of Conflict at the University of Ulster, there are 3277 Chinese people living in Northern Ireland. The coordinator of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities believes that attacks on the Chinese community are coming mainly from staunch loyalist areas and that the Northern Ireland peace process has made things worse.

There have been 32 confirmed robberies on Chinese homes since April 1996. A typical attack occurs when a hooded gang bursts into the home, ties up the women and children and waits for the man to come. In one incident, a Chinese couple, in bed at their Belfast home, were set upon by masked men with cudgels. The gang boiled a kettle of water and went to the child's bedroom, threatening to pour the boiling water over the children unless money was handed over.

Two deaths

Such attacks have led to at least two deaths in recent months. In November, Albert Leung from Antrim died of liver failure five months after masked men broke into his house and beat him with a wooden club about the head, back and chest. And the Chinese Welfare Association have offered a £2000 reward for information leading to the prosecution of those persons responsible for Simon Tang's death.

The case of Simon Tang

On 23 June, while closing his takeaway in Carrickfergus, 26-year-old Simon Tang, father of two, was brutally attacked by thugs armed with baseball bats. Beaten virtually unconscious, and robbed of all his takings, he managed to stagger to a phone and contact his wife. Two days later, Simon Tang lost his fight for life. The response of the Royal Ulster Constabulary was immediately to issue a statement ruling out racism and suggesting that the only motive for the murder was robbery.

Simon Tang's brothers-in-law, Stanley and Dean Lee, disagree. They spoke to the Belfast Telegraph about the 'pure racism' at the heart of these cowardly attacks. For the 'same bigotry needed to perform sectarian violence was needed to beat Simon Tang about the head with baseball bats. He was just another "chink" to his killers just as thousands of other victims have been just another "prod" or "taig" to their murderers.'

Further findings

The Centre for the Study for Conflict report found that up to half of the four ethnic minority groups interviewed believe the ceasefires have made matters worse for their community, while a sizeable proportion of the Chinese population reported dissatisfaction with the police. The population of the ethnic groups is growing at a much faster rate than the general population. Their age profile is also much younger.

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© Institute of Race Relations 1996