[wai-ming]

This is the same country that slammed its doors shut in 1997 to people from its own "crown colony." Hong Kong immigrants were well-educated, productive, financially stable, and wouldn't put a burden on the country's welfare system. And they were literally trying to escape the grips of Communism.

But no, Britain wouldn't allow them in. How ironic:

England now opens its doors wide to Muslim terrorists and economic refugees, whose only contribution to Great Britain is the big drain on the country's economy, security, and social stability.

Doesn't make any sense to me.

[colonel mosby]

The Poles will certainly assimilate better than the Muslims or the refugees from Hong Kong.

I'll bet that there will not ever be a single incident in Great Britain of a Pole, Czech, Hungarian, Rumanian, or Bulgarian Christian refugee setting off bombs on buses or on railways.

However, we will see many, many such tragedies in the next few decades involving British "citizens" who are adherants of Islam.

[Winniesboy]

The Eastern Europeans, the Poles in particular, are not "a drain on the country's economic security". Quite the contrary, they're net contributors: mostly young, hard-working, with useful skills and not claiming benefits. Rather similar, in fact, to the situation with the Hong Kong immigrants which you describe.

[MinorityRepublican]

The people from Hong Kong ended up in Vancover, Canada, isn't that right?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Guessing that you won't get many responses. The UK should give preference to its overseas possessions, which before 1998 included Hong Kong.

Also guessing many of the commenters here who so approve of 700 eastern Europeans per day a country of 60 million would be vehemently against 700 Mexicans arriving legally every day into the United States (255,500 a year), much less the proportional (to the UK) 3,500 (3500) Mexicans per day (~1.3 million), since the USA has 300 million to the UK's 60 million. Furthermore, the Mexican culture is probably closer related to the American one (at least depending on how much of Mexican culture is of Spanish descent compared with Amerindian. Both Spanish and English are Centum languages, and both have western European descended cultures. Eastern European languages are largely Satem, and there cultures are (obviously) eastern European. There are Polish newspapers in the UK, just as there are Spanish ones here.

This is not to state that eastern European immigrants are bad (many can and do assimilate here, and probably the same happens in the UK), but simply to put things into balance.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Apparently you got plenty of responses.