By Adedayo Akinwale
Following the condemnation that trailed a video that went viral on social media showing Nigerians being forced out of their houses and hotels, rounded up and their passports seized by the Chinese police in Guangzhou, China, the Chinese government has said that it has zero tolerance for discrimination or differential treatment.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, had expressed his displeasure over the development during a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, in Abuja.
However, the Chinese embassy, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, said China values her friendly relations with Nigeria, adding that the Embassy stands ready to keep communication with the Nigerian side in this regard.
The Chinese government said: “On April 10, Ambassador Zhou Pingjian met with Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives at his instance. During the meeting, the Ambassador was offered to watch a mobile phone video clip about the purported improper treatment on some Nigerian citizens in Guangzhou, China.
“The Ambassador made it clear that judging from the one video clip on that mobile phone, the approach of the relevant epidemic prevention and control personnel was not inappropriate. We treat all foreign nationals equally in China. We reject differential treatment and have zero tolerance for discrimination.”
It noted that to prevent and control the pandemic, there is need for understanding, support and cooperation from both Chinese and foreign nationals in China, while urging all foreigners in China to strictly observe local anti-epidemic regulations.
The Chinese government said that to keep social distance during the pandemic, the said mobile phone with the video clip was placed on the tea table, insisting that any other interpretation of the scene does not conform with “what was actually there during the meeting”.
