Nigeria has condemned the “extremely distressing” and “unacceptable” footage appearing to show its citizens in China maltreated because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier on Tuesday, US fast-food chain McDonald’s apologised for a sign in one of its restaurants in Guangzhou telling black people they were banned from entering.
McDonald’s has come under scrutiny after one branch in China posted a sign prohibiting black people from entering its premises.
The sign, which was posted in a McDonald’s in the city of Guangzhou and went viral on social media, was removed and the restaurant temporarily shut down, a representative from McDonald’s told USA TODAY in a statement.
“We’ve been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant,” the sign read. “Please understand the inconvenience caused.”
The message on the sign, the statement said, is “not representative of our inclusive values.” McDonald’s also said the branch’s employees and managers will undergo “values” training.
Again, for those who still doubt that Black people and particularly #AfricansinChina are being targeted we feel it is our duty to share this. A sign at a @McDonalds restaurant seems to make this perfectly clear
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, black people in Guangzhou — including black Americans — have been subject to mandatory tests and quarantine even if they had no known travel history, as well as reports of discrimination in hotels, restaurants and other public spaces, the BBC and CNN report.
The U.S. Consulate General in China has advised that African-Americans “avoid the Guangzhou metropolitan area until further notice,” per the South China Morning Post.
Five Nigerians tested positive for coronavirus in the city, reported the Morning Post, which has the largest population of African migrants in all of Asia
Unacceptable’: Nigeria condemns treatment of citizens in China
Nigeria has condemned the “extremely distressing” and “unacceptable” footage appearing to show its citizens in China maltreated because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said: “There were videos circulating on social media of very disturbing scenes and incidents involving Nigerians in the city of Guangzhou.”
Onyeama said it appeared that Nigerians were being discriminated against at hotels and restaurants and being stigmatised as supposed carriers of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
“We saw images of Nigerians in the streets with their possessions and this was, of course, extremely distressing for us at home,” he said.
He said the situation was “unacceptable” to the Nigerian government and its people, and needed “immediate action” from the Chinese authorities.
The Chinese ambassador said Beijing was taking the issues the minister raised “very seriously” and said China would continue to foster cordial ties with Nigeria.
The conversation followed accusations of discrimination in the southern city of Guangzhou linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Having brought under control the original outbreak centred on the city of Wuhan, Beijing is now concerned about imported cases and is stepping up scrutiny of foreigners coming into the country and tightening border controls.
And while Beijing has denied discrimination, Africans in China say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing.
On Saturday, the African Union expressed “extreme concern” about the situation in Guangzhou and called on the Chinese government to take immediate corrective measures.