[Cherie]

A wave of anti-foreign sentiment is sweeping China, as non-Chinese nationals are blamed for re-introducing the Covid-19 infection into the country. Yvonne Murray reports from Beijing.
In a video circulated online, a man of African origin holds up a sign he has just been handed in a branch of McDonalds, in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
"We've been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant," the sign reads.
"For the sake of your health consciously notify the local police for medical isolation, please understand the inconvenience caused," it reads.
McDonalds issued an apology and removed the notice.
In another video, a woman of African origin is seen being waved away from the entrance to a shopping mall, while other customers are allowed to enter.
African expats in China frequently encounter racism but in recent weeks, they have been stigmatized for spreading the coronavirus.
It began with news reports of a man of African origin who reportedly went to a restaurant in Guangzhou where he infected several people with Covid-19. Another report detailed a man who attacked a health worker.
As a result, African expats were required to undergo stricter testing and quarantine procedures. Several were evicted from their rented homes and refused entry to hotels.
Images of homeless Africans sleeping on the streets of Guangzhou caused outrage in their home countries.


Chinese ambassadors were summoned for questioning while the ambassadors to Beijing of several African nations wrote a disgruntled letter to China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi.
The Chinese authorities moved quickly to smooth things over.
After all, China-Africa bilateral trade is worth billions of dollars. China also leans heavily on the support of African nations in international institutions like the United Nations.
It’s difficult to predict whether the incident will damage the relationship in the long-term.
But in China, it’s part of a larger wave of xenophobia which has seen non-nationals blamed for re-introducing the coronavirus.
It is clear from online chatgroups and from my conversations with locals here in Beijing, that many Chinese citizens believe that their own government took the right action at the right time to bring the infection under control, while other countries, particularly western democracies, failed utterly.
As the rate of local infections dropped in China, imported cases began to account for the biggest daily increase. But China closed its borders to foreign passport holders on 28 March.
All of the imported cases since then have been among returning Chinese citizens – a key detail that is often overlooked in media reports and online discussions.
The focus on imported cases as the main source of infection plus the coverage of soaring death rates in Europe and America have fuelled the notion that foreigners are dangerous.
"I was walking down the street last night," said Sean Bolster, a businessman from Westport, Co Mayo, who lives in Guangzhou, "when two different individuals saw my foreign face, shrieked in fear and made a beeline to cross the road."
"Today a woman refused to let me in the elevator because I'm a foreigner," he added, "even though she knows I’ve lived in this building for years."
"Later as I queued up in a bakery, a woman turned around," he said, "saw me, jumped and scrambled to get away from me, pulling her boyfriend away and muttering "foreigner.""
Mr Bolster, who has lived in China for 18 years, said he has not experienced this kind of treatment before. "It’s happening every day here," he said, "but I just grin and bear it underneath my mask!"

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0418/11...n-coronavirus/

[Jigs]

smh so dramatic

[DouglasS]

Considering the virus originated from China it’s a bit rich to be blaming others of spreading the virus

[Toy Soldier]

To be fair, racism against Black people has always been absolutely rife in China. They're historically generally accepting of Caucasians but there's a lot of racism towards other nationalities (even including non-Chinese Asians). This will have exacerbated the issue but I doubt it took much and for many will be more of an excuse to indulge existing prejudice.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Mr Bolster, who has lived in China for 18 years, said he has not experienced this kind of treatment before. "It’s happening every day here," he said

Thank goodness nothing like this would ever happen in the UK constantly since 2016.

[arista]

Yes Africans in China
reported on CNN HD
are locked away even if they do not have Covid 19.

[Denver]

I saw a video of 3 chinese men attack and innocent black man and beat almost to death with metal poles.

[Denver]

China have always been racist, Ask the muslims of china how they get treated, but nobody does anything because everyone is scared of the nation and they are allowed to get away with murder

[Wizard.]

Disgusting, one of the most evil and corrupt countries but they seem to get away with more than middle-Eastern countries and Russia.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by WickedSkengMan

China have always been racist, Ask the muslims of china how they get treated, but nobody does anything because everyone is scared of the nation and they are allowed to get away with murder

This.

Could be as many of a million Muslims - and some others - interned in secret camps. How many have died already? How many are dying? No one knows.

But hey, China makes cheap stuff, right!

[arista]

Originally Posted by WickedSkengMan

I saw a video of 3 chinese men attack and innocent black man and beat almost to death with metal poles.

Yes they are blaming Black Men
for spreading Covid 19.

Even the fellas that have not left China
so they could not have it.