DA calls on parly to reveal plan of action amid alleged afrophobic attacks in China
Reports allege African nationals are being targeted by the police and have been forcefully evicted from their rented homes without notice.
(FILES) This file photo taken on March 2, 2018 shows people gathering on a street in the “Little Africa” district in Guangzhou, the capital of southern China’s Guangdong province. – Africans in southern China’s largest city say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing as the country steps up its fight against imported infections. (Photo by Fred DUFOUR / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY HEALTH-VIRUS-RACISM, FOCUS BY LAURIE CHEN
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the chairperson of the portfolio committee on international relations and cooperation, Tandi MahambehFlala, to urgently convene a video conference meeting with the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) on the actions government will take in relation to China’s alleged discriminatory treatment of African migrants.
Several media reports and video footage have alleged that Chinese officials have accused 300,000 African nationals living in Guangzhou of being the cause of the second outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Reports alleged that African nationals were targeted by the police and have also been forcefully evicted from their rented homes without notice with some having to sleep on the streets as a result.
Also read: China to ‘improve its working method’ when dealing with its ‘good African friends’
“The DA strongly condemns the Afrophobic discrimination and unfair treatment of African nationals by Chinese authorities.
“With President Cyril Ramaphosa as the chairperson of the African Union, it is critical that South Africa assists in efforts to repair this situation. It is therefore vital that Dirco briefs parliament on its plan of action as well as the status of South Africa’s current relationship with China in light of the recall of the Chinese ambassador from South Africa.
“The DA does not only have a responsibility to monitor human rights abuses of foreign nationals in South Africa, we are also morally obligated to monitor the treatments of vulnerable communities abroad,” it said in a statement.
(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)
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