Chinese state media have slammed western media for “distorting” China’s ethnic minority policies after anti-China demonstrations broke out in Turkey over the weekend.

The living conditions of ethnic minorities in China have long been twisted by a small number of Western media, a report by the Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

Allegations that the Chinese government imposed restrictions on Uyghurs during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and “demagogic speeches made by a small number of agitators” have led to recent anti-China protests in Turkey, Xinhua said.

On Saturday Turkish nationalists attacked a group of tourists from South Korea in Istanbul, mistaking them for Chinese. The incident happened at Topkapi Palace, a tourist hotspot, where activists demonstrated against China’s alleged persecution of Muslim Uyghurs. The Korean tourists were rescued by riot police.

Photo: 谷大白话 via Weibo.

Vivienne Zeng

Vivienne Zeng is a journalist from China with three years' experience covering Hong Kong and mainland affairs. She has an MA in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. Her work has been featured on outlets such as Al Jazeera+ and MSNBC.