JOHANNESBURG – African\nambassadors in China have written to the country\u2019s foreign minister over what\nthey call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a\nresurgence of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several African\ncountries have separately also demanded that China address their concerns that\nAfricans, in particular in the southern city of Guangzhou, are being mistreated\nand harassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having brought under\ncontrol the original outbreak centered on the city of Wuhan, China is now\nconcerned about imported cases and is stepping up scrutiny of foreigners coming\ninto the country and tightening border controls. It has denied any\ndiscrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent days\nAfricans in Guangzhou have reported being ejected from their apartments by\ntheir landlords, being tested for coronavirus several times without being given\nresults and being shunned and discriminated against in public. Such complaints\nhave been made in local media, and on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ambassadors\u2019 note\nsaid such \u201cstigmatization and discrimination\u201d created the false impression that\nthe virus was being spread by Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Group of African\nAmbassadors in Beijing immediately demands the cessation of forceful testing,\nquarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The note was sent to\nChina\u2019s top diplomat, Wang Yi, copying the chair of the African Union, South\nAfrican President Cyril Ramaphosa and all African foreign ministers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese foreign\nministry\u2019s International Press Centre did not immediately respond to a request\nfor comment on the note, sent outside of business hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese embassy in\nSouth Africa also did not respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foreign affairs\nofficial Liu Baochun told a news conference on Sunday that Guangzhou is\nenforcing anti-virus measures on anyone who enters the city from across the\nnational border, regardless of nationality, race or gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese embassy in\nZimbabwe on Saturday dismissed the accusation that Africans were being\ndeliberately targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is harmful to\nsensationalize isolated incidents,\u201d it said in a tweeted statement. \u201cChina\ntreats all individuals in the country, Chinese and foreign alike, as equals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ambassadors\u2019 note\nhighlighted a number of reported incidents, including that Africans were being\nejected from hotels in the middle of the night, the seizure of passports, and\nthreats of visa revocation, arrest or deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Saturday, Ghana\u2019s\nforeign minister of affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said she had summoned the\nChinese ambassador to express her disappointment and demand action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kenya\u2019s foreign ministry\nhas also \u201cofficially expressed concern\u201d, adding the government is working with\nChinese authorities to address the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, Nigerian\nlegislator Akinola Alabi tweeted a video of a meeting between the leader of\nNigeria\u2019s lower house of parliament, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Chinese Ambassador\nZhou Pingjian. In it, Gbajabiamila demanded an explanation from the diplomat\nafter showing Zhou a video of a Nigerian complaining about mistreatment in\nChina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ambassador said in\nresponse to the questions from the house leader that he took the complaints\n\u201cvery seriously\u201d and promised to convey them to the authorities back home.\n\nSource:\nVoice of America\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"