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Hong Kong tightens security at port

By Julie Schmit
USA TODAY

HONG KONG -- The deaths of three Chinese stowaways who perished inside a shipping container as it traveled for 14 days from Hong Kong to Seattle have led to tighter security at Hong Kong's port.

But that alone isn't expected to curtail the flow of illegal immigrants, who might not know that their countrymen are dying en route and that the life promised them in the United States is a ruse, officials say.

China's opening to the outside world, via global trade and the Internet, has led to higher expectations among many Chinese that cannot be met in the Communist-controlled country. The promise of better lives -- believed to be made by organized-crime gangs in China -- encourages many to risk the journey, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars, says sociologist Lau Siu-ku of Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Even if the crackdown on container ships is successful, the gangs will find other ways, he says. Most often, Chinese immigrants who arrive in the United States via sea come on old boats -- not in containers on commercial freighters.

''If people are going to pay $50,000, the smuggling will continue,'' says Arthur Bowring, director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association.

Since late December, 136 Chinese immigrants have been found in containers at ports in Seattle, Long Beach, Calif., and Vancouver, British Columbia. Three dead men were found Monday amid 15 others who arrived in Seattle -- dehydrated and hungry.

The immigrants were in containers covered with tarps. The soft tops, which allow for air holes, are considered more attractive to smugglers. Typically, stowaways pay hundreds of dollars up front. Officials suspect the gangs collect the rest that is owed after the stowaways reach their destination and start working in low-level jobs.

Hong Kong says its port security is tight. But it also is on China's border. Many of the immigrants come from the neighboring province of Fujian. Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest container ports and prides itself on being fast and regulation-friendly.

''We try not to interfere with free trade,'' Assistant Customs Chief Ronald Au says.

Millions of containers go through the port every year. Declining to be specific, Au says only a small percentage are opened and inspected. Companies in Hong Kong say they can go years without having incoming containers checked.

The rash of human-smuggling cases has convinced officials they need to do more. Hong Kong is asking companies to:

* Alert customs officials to soft-top shipments so containers can be inspected.

* Scan carbon dioxide levels in containers to check for live cargo.

* Check the validity of customers shipping goods.

The Japanese-owned Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) delivered one container to what turned out to be a bogus Hong Kong company. Laws do not require such checks.

''In the future, we will check,'' says Jonathan Chiu, marketing manager for NYK.

Two of the stowaway ships were owned by Orient Overseas Container Line, the family business of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. Tung hasn't been involved in the business since he became chief executive.

The shipping companies are not being investigated for wrongdoing, Hong Kong officials say. Containers are packed and sealed before they are loaded on ships.

Though the new regulations might crimp the use of soft-top containers, more needs to be done, observers say.

Last year, a record 4,048 Chinese were repatriated to Fujian province, the Hong Kong Standard reported.

Human rights officials say that governments need to work closer together and that China needs to dispense more information about what happens to stowaways. Some China residents recently interviewed by Hong Kong newspapers were surprised that the United States would repatriate someone who had survived a two-week journey in a container.