21 Jul 2008

Blacks bullied in Beijing as Olympics approach

Add Africans and Mongolians to the groups Beijing's Olympic organizers want to push out of the capital before the games begin.

Chinese police officials have been forcing some bar owners in Beijing to sign secret pledges to ban blacks and Mongolians from entering their premises during the Olympic games next month, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper.

While police denied any such activity, and most bars denied knowing about the prohibition, African residents in the city say that harassment by the authorities and discrimination at the bars has increased.

The Post quoted a co-owner of a bar who said his business had been visited by police with an order "not to serve black people or Mongolians." In the Sanlitun bar district, some owners were forced to sign pledges to prohibit dancing and serving black customers.

WND has reported on a "blacklist" of people and groups of people China has been targeting specifically because of the coming publicity that will accompany the Olympic Games in August. Those targeted include religious leaders.

WND has also reported on China's apparent crackdown on Christians and Christianity in advance of the 2008 Games, including the expulsion of more than 100 foreign Christians in China in just a 90-day period, the biggest assault on the presence of Christianity in China since 1954.

Blacks bullied in Beijing as Olympics approach

Also see China’s Expansion Into Africa