cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43986907
- A group of Chinese citizens attempted to cross the border between Serbia and Croatia illegally; one of them died
- Two such cases of illegal border crossings have been recorded in the last two months
- Some European countries are warning of an increased influx of Chinese citizens arriving via human smuggling routes in the Western Balkans
- Serbia and China have had a visa-free regime since 2017
Serbia: Chinese citizen died as overloaded boat capsized on Danube river while attempting to cross the border illegally and flee to EU
A Chinese citizen died when a boat capsized on the Danube between Serbia and Croatia while attempting to cross the border illegally.
In the last two months, there have been two recorded cases of groups of Chinese citizens attempting to cross the border between Serbia and Croatia illegally.
Miroslava Jelačić Kojić from the non-governmental organization Group 484 [said] that there are trends indicating that Chinese citizens are increasingly becoming victims of human trafficking in the Western Balkans.
[…]
“Italian authorities have warned that there has been an increase in the number of Chinese citizens who have been smuggled and that they have also been moving along the Western Balkan route,” she said.
[…]
Serbia and China have had a visa-free regime since 2017, which means that citizens of both countries can reside or transit through the territory of China and Serbia for up to 30 days from the date of entry.
As a candidate for European Union membership, Serbia maintains close ties with China and is strengthening political, economic, and military cooperation.
[…]
Serbian rescue services found four injured Chinese citizens, while Croatian rescue services pulled five more Chinese citizens from the Danube.
Dragoslav Živković, acting deputy chief of the Vukovar-Srijem police administration, told the media […] that, according to initial information, the individuals had attempted to cross the state border from Serbia to Croatia illegally.
[…]
The boat reportedly capsized due to overloading, with ten Chinese and one Serbian citizen on board.
[…]
The Western Balkan corridor is also mentioned in a January statement by Europol, the EU police agency, when it announced the dismantling of a sophisticated Chinese criminal network.
The network was involved in illegal immigration and human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Raids in Barcelona, Madrid, and Toledo in Spain, and in Zagreb in Croatia, led to the arrest of 30 people, including the leaders of the criminal network.
[…]