In reply to Acx1688, I don’t have to go to London regularly. I
have lived there as a student and worked there for a while. How
else do you think I know they refer to their subway system (i.e.
their MRT) as the tube.
On the other hand, I’d like to ask you whether you have actually
set foot in London before or does your impression of London come
from the tv. Have walked along Oxford St. – London’s own Orchard
Road. You will notice there are no trash bins – not just on Oxford
St. But throughout most of Greater London. Why not take a ride on
their tube during summertime and check the soot accumulated on your
collar – you know, the so-called ‘ring’ around the collar.
Anyway, here’s some food for thought. Should we hold a referendum
and limit the % of foreigners living and working in Singapore:
dated 14 Feb.
Inspired by Switzerland’s immigration vote, which has infuriated
the European Union, one of Norway’s ruling parties is calling for
the country to hold its own referendum on limiting immigration from
the EU.
On Sunday, Switzerland voted 50.3 percent in favor of
re-introducing strict quotas for immigrants from the EU, thus
scrapping the policy of free movement within the 28-nation
bloc.
The surprise choice sent shockwaves across Europe, with Brussels
threatening to reconsider its relations with Switzerland and
anti-immigration activists applauding the result.
“I won’t take a stance on such a quota system that the Swiss
people have voted for. But the idea of a referendum is interesting,
and Norway also should have a referendum on immigration,” said
Mazyar Keshvari, immigration spokesman for the Progress Party
(FrP), which is part of Norway’s Conservative-led government.
“I am quite sure that there is majority support for tightening
immigration across Norway’s political parties. The polls show
that,” he told VG newspaper.
Keshvari is himself a second-generation immigrant. The
32-year-old politician comes from an Iranian family who took refuge
in Norway in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution when he was a
child.
Although the Swiss poll prompted calls for similar
immigration-curbing measures from far-right movements across
Europe, Norway has become the first nation where a government party
has expressed its support for the idea.
However, Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Minister of EEA (European Economic Area) and EU Affairs expressed
concern about the Swiss vote.
“This will create problems for the Swiss business sector and the
economy, which have benefited greatly from labor immigration from
the EEA, as has Norway. It will be
interesting to see what consequences this has for Switzerland’s
relations with the EU,” Helgesen said in a statement on the Foreign
Ministry’s website.
“The Swiss people have expressed their disagreement with their
government on an important aspect of Switzerland’s relations with
other countries. Norway would like to emphasize the importance of
free movement of persons for growth and prosperity in an open
economy,” said Helgesen, a politician for center-right Conservative
Party, which leads the ruling two-party coalition.
Keshvari, of the Progress Party, argued that EEA migration was not that beneficial.
“Lithuanians and Poles who come and seek employment in Norway
gladly bring their family here when they discover anything they can
get for free by residing here, including free healthcare and social
security benefits,” VG quoted Keshvari as saying.
The FrP party has repeatedly said that Norway should study the
EEA Agreement and use whatever room for
maneuver there is to limit immigration, Keshvari said.
Conservatives and the FrP government are now reportedly in tough
negotiations with the Liberals and Christian Democrats on measures
to limit immigration to Norway.
