Anti-China sentiment is suddenly sweeping over Turkey

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/anti-china-sentiment-sweeping-over-161008152.html

Demonstrators set fire to a Chinese flag during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, July 5, 2015.

(Reuters) Demonstrators set fire to a Chinese flag during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, July 5, 2015.
Protests. Burnt flags. Attacks on tourists and restaurants. Rampant racism on social media.

Anti-China sentiment has been reaching new heights in Turkey over the last few weeks, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to make an official state visit to China later this month.

It started at the beginning of July, when a Chinese restaurant in Istanbul was attacked by five men with sticks and stones. 

"We do not want a Chinese restaurant here, get out of our town!" the men were heard saying, according to Al-Monitor.

A few days later, a Korean tourist mistaken to be Chinese was attacked by a group of ultra-nationalists in the capital. On the same day in Balikesir, protesters hung an effigy of Mao Zedong. And a few days later, the protests spread again to Istanbul, where Chinese tourists were attacked and harassed, according to CNN.

The protests gathered momentum a few weeks ago, when reports emerged that Uighurs — who share ethnicity and have close cultural ties with Turkish Muslims — who are living in western regions of China had allegedly not been allowed to fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Those allegations have been denied by the Chinese government. Uighurs make up around 45% of the Xinjiang autonomous region of China. 

On July 9, a group of about 200 men who are believed to be part of the East Turkestan Solidarity Groupattacked the Thai embassy in Istanbul with rocks and wooden planks. The attack followed the repatriation of over 100 Uighurs back to China by the Thai government.

In a recent interview, Devlety Bahceli, chairman of the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP) in Turkey, whose members have been accused of assaulting tourists, said they are "sensitive to injustices in China."

"Our nationalist youth is sensitive to injustices in China. They should have the freedom to exercise their democratic rights. These are young kids. They may have been provoked. Plus, how are you going to differentiate between Korean and Chinese? They both have slanted eyes. Does it really matter?" he said, according to Al-Monitor. 

 

Boys wave East Turkestan flags during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, July 5, 2015.(Reuters) Boys wave East Turkestan flags during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, July 5, 2015.

Those racist comments caused uproar in national and international media. And following growing social pressure, Nationalist Action Party members told Al-Monitor that they view all tourists as their guests. The head of the Grey Wolves, the youth wing of the MHP in Istanbul, told the BBC that the attacks took place between protesters and the police — and that no tourists were harmed.

"The safety of every tourist coming to our country is our responsibility. We can't tolerate any sort of violence," he said.