Chinese tourists in Turkey told to avoid anti-Beijing protests after attacks

Reading Time:2 minutes

Uygurs living in Turkey and their supporters wear T-shirts with fake blood, representing Uygurs who have died in China. Photo: AP

Published: 1:00am, 6 Jul 2015Updated: 7:08pm, 6 Jul 2015

China warned its citizens travelling in Turkey to be careful of anti-Beijing protests, warning them some Chinese tourists had been "attacked and disturbed".

The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said there had recently been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government.

"Absolutely do not get close to or film the protests, and minimise to the greatest extent outside activities on one's own," the notice said.

Turkish nationalists protesting against China's treatment of ethnic Uygur Muslims attacked a group of Korean tourists in the heart of Istanbul's old city on Saturday, mistaking them for Chinese nationals.

Demonstrators set fire to a Chinese flag during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on July 5, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Hundreds of protesters marched towards the Topkapi Palace on the banks of the Bosphorus Strait in a show of solidarity with the Uygurs, who complain of cultural and religious suppression under Chinese rule in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Shouting "Allahu akbar [God is great]", they attacked some Koreans outside the Topkapi Palace, which is visited by thousands of tourists every day.

The Korean tourists were rescued by riot police, who fired tear gas to disperse the attackers, members of the notorious far-right Grey Wolves closely affiliated with the Nationalist Movement Party.