在近日举行的欧洲杯决赛中，英格兰球员马库斯·拉什福德、贾登·桑乔和布卡约·萨卡三名黑人球员，因在点球大战中未能得分，在社交媒体上遭到种族歧视辱骂。绿茵场上再自然不过的一幕，竟然成了种族歧视者的靶子，这再次暴露了英国积重难返的种族主义顽疾。

　　日前，一名19岁中国留学生在谢菲尔德遇袭。事发当天，这位中国女孩刚从商店购物出来，一名英国女子用种族歧视话语侮辱她，接着扇她耳光，还揪住她头发将其拖拽在地。女孩被按倒在地后又被袭击者用力踢头部，袭击者还拿起玻璃瓶试图砸女孩的头……

　　以上种种，只是英国社会暴露出的种族歧视现象中冰山一角。根据联合国消除种族歧视委员会报告，近年英国种族主义愈演愈烈，针对少数族裔的系统性歧视、暴力挑衅和仇恨犯罪显著上升。少数族裔遭辱骂挑衅，走在街头无端遭袭……从语言攻击到暴力袭击，类似事件陆续发生，导致在英少数族裔深陷种族歧视的恐惧中。

　　然而，面对现状，英国政府非但不自省，还企图掩耳盗铃、洗白自己。英国政府今年3月31日发布的种族主义调查报告称，没有足够证据证明英国存在系统性制度性的种族歧视，并大言不惭地说英国应该被视为其他白人为主国家的典范。报告一出就遭到在英少数族裔强烈抗议和社会各界普遍质疑。甚至联合国人权理事会非洲人后裔专家组也发布声明，对英方报告歪曲和捏造历史事实，以美化种族等级制度的陈词滥调为“白人至上”主义辩护进行了强烈谴责。

　　无论是黑色人种还是黄色人种……这些年，在英国饱受歧视的少数族裔始终在为了权利而抗争，他们所期望和争取的，不过是“高高在上”的群体天天宣扬却无法兑现的“平等”而已。

　　英国自诩为“人权旗手”，热衷于充当“教师爷”，对他国人权状况常常指手画脚，却对自己的人权问题视而不见。若英国政府真想捍卫他们所推崇的“自由平等民主”，就应该积极采取行动，从根本上改变少数族裔在英面临的人权窘境，为他们创造公平且安全的生存环境。

　　UK's racial discrimination disease should be cured

　　By John Lee

　　(ECNS) -- Three English football players — Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who are of African descent and missed their penalties in defeat against Italy in the Euro 2020 final — were inundated with racial abuse on social media platforms, which has exposed the deep-rooted racism in the UK once again.

　　Another race hate case occurred in Sheffield in May. A 19-year-old Chinese student was violently attacked by a British woman who demanded to know if she was Chinese, hit her in the face and pulled her to the ground by her hair. The attacker allegedly picked up a bottle but was intercepted by passersby.

　　The two cases are just the tip of the iceberg. Racism in the UK has intensified, and systemic discrimination, violent provocation and hate crimes against ethnic minorities have increased in recent years, according to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Both verbal and physical attacks have put ethnic minorities in fear of racial discrimination and challenged their psychological endurance.

　　But instead of reflecting on and trying to find solutions to these problems, the UK government has turned a blind eye to the status quo and tried to whitewash it. The country said it "no longer" has a system rigged against people from ethnic minorities and should be seen as a "model for other white-majority countries," according to a report released by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which sparked wide outrage from UK society and its ethnic minorities. The report was also slammed by the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which claims "the report cites dubious evidence to make claims that rationalize white supremacy by using the familiar arguments that have always justified racial hierarchy."

　　All British ethnic minorities, including Africans and Asians, have long fought for illusive equal rights. Racial equality, which is always on the lips of white people, however, has never become reality.

　　Some UK politicians always object to other countries' human rights issues, but shut their eyes to their own problems. If the government really wants to defend its UK-style "freedom, equality and democracy,” it must act to change the dilemma faced by ethnic minorities and create a fair and safe living environment for them.