Beijing issues travel warning after Turkey protests target Chinese

Beijing issues travel warning after Turkey protests target Chinese –

CNN  – Turkish newspapers have also shown photos of the Turkish-owned “Happy China” restaurant in Istanbul, which had its window smashed, reportedly by anti-Chinese Turkish demonstrators.

Last week Turkey sent a diplomatic note to China, expressing concern and sorrow over reports that authorities in Xinjiang had prevented Uyghurs from fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Beijing has denied any ban on observing Ramadan had been imposed on its Muslim citizens. In a July 2 statement on the website of China’s embassy in Turkey it said: “Muslim residents’ religious feelings, needs and customs be fully understood, respected and protected.”

But instructions posted on the websites of a number of city governments and schools in Xinjiang suggest that on a local level, there are policies aimed at preventing students, public servants and Communist Party members from observing Ramadan traditions.

For example, the Food and Drug Administration for Xinjiang’s Jinghe County instructs employees to sign a statement that includes a “pledge to obey political discipline to firmly ensure that families that have (Communist) Party members and students will not fast and will not participate in any forms of religious activities.”

Anti-Chinese demonstrators

Turkish newspapers have also shown photos of the Turkish-owned “Happy China” restaurant in Istanbul, which had its window smashed, reportedly by anti-Chinese Turkish demonstrators.

Last week Turkey sent a diplomatic note to China, expressing concern and sorrow over reports that authorities in Xinjiang had prevented Uyghurs from fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Beijing has denied any ban on observing Ramadan had been imposed on its Muslim citizens. In a July 2 statement on the website of China’s embassy in Turkey it said: “Muslim residents’ religious feelings, needs and customs be fully understood, respected and protected.”

But instructions posted on the websites of a number of city governments and schools in Xinjiang suggest that on a local level, there are policies aimed at preventing students, public servants and Communist Party members from observing Ramadan traditions.

For example, the Food and Drug Administration for Xinjiang’s Jinghe County instructs employees to sign a statement that includes a “pledge to obey political discipline to firmly ensure that families that have (Communist) Party members and students will not fast and will not participate in any forms of religious activities.”