The Chinese community in London has been urged to get active in voting ahead of the European Union Parliament elections.
Chinatown celebrated Easter Sunday with a renewed effort to encourage the community to make their voices heard in the upcoming elections.
The Get Active! Get Voting Campaign 2009 team gathered in London Chinatown and offered free advice and assistance to many Chinese people on how to register to vote, with party representatives also on hand to give a helping hand.
Steven Cheung, a member of British Chinese Project which aims to involve young British Chinese in the country's politics, is planning to stand in the European Election.
"Chinese have kept silent for too long, we need to register our need and have our voice heard. Registration is crucial if we want to vote Cheung also thanks the community for their support in his bid for Europe," said the 19-year-old, who is now in his gap year after being admitted to the Cambridge University.
Leslie Ng, President of London Chinatown Chinese Association said: "A lot of Chinese did not vote partly because of the language difficulties, and partly because they didn't know how or who they should vote for. I hope event like this will help to improve the situation."
Steven Cheung (5th R), 19-year-old young man who is planning his campaign for the membership of the European Parliament, Leslie Ng (7th R), president of London Chinatown Chinese Association and Jonathan Fryer (8th R), London Liberal Democrat Candidate for the European Parliament, pose with volunteers during a European Parliament election promotion at the Chinatown in London, Britain, April 12, 2009. The Get Active! Get Voting Campaign 2009 team, jointly initiated by the BC project (Integration of British Chinese into Politics) and other local Chinese organizations, gave free advices and assistance to many Chinese people on how to register and vote here on Easter Sunday, as a new effort to encourage the local Chinese community to speak up for the upcoming European Parliament elections due in June. (Xinhua Photo) Christine Lee, chair of the British Chinese Project, said: "Easter is about bringing families and friends together and it was great to see not only the Chinese community but people from all ethnic and social backgrounds come together in support of greater Chinese integration into politics. Encouraging the Chinese to register to vote and participate in politics is not simply for Chinese people but for society as a whole. Only through increased awareness, participation and support can we make this country the truly multicultural country it deserves to be."
The European election will be held from June 4 to 7. More than 500 million voters in the 27 European countries will get involved and elect 736 members of the European Parliament.
The whole London constituency will churn out eight seats from its 7 million population on the principle of proportional representation. With a total of 200,000 Chinese in London, the Chinese community wishes to elect its own representative for the first time in the European election.
Source: Xinhua
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