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Friday, February 14, 2025
HomeWorldAsiaChina McDonald's apologises for ban on black people

China McDonald’s apologises for ban on black people

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Daily US Times: McDonald’s in China has apologised after a branch of the fast food chain in the industrial city of Guangzhou barred black people from entering.

“We’ve been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant,” a video shared on social media showed a notice that read.

McDonald’s said that when it found out about the notice it temporarily closed the restaurant.

Tensions have been rising high between Africans and local people in the city due to the notice.

Community leaders told that hundreds of Africans in Guangzhou were evicted last week from apartments and hotels after online rumors that coronavirus was spreading among African people.

Guangzhou is home to one of China’s largest African communities and its a hub for African traders buying and selling goods.

The Guangdong provincial government has responded to concerns about discrimination by calling China and Africa good friends, brothers and partners.

It said it attached “great importance to some African countries’ concerns and is working promptly to improve” its way of operating.

A screenshot of that notice.

McDonald’s also responded, saying the ban on black people from entering their restaurants was “not representative of our inclusive values”.

“Immediately upon learning of an unauthorized communication to our guests at a restaurant in Guangzhou, we immediately removed the communication and temporarily closed the restaurant,” it said.

The restaurant added that it had conducted “diversity and inclusion” training in the branch.

Many Africans feel less welcome

In Guangzhou, many African say that they have been facing more than a week of discrimination.

Health workers have reportedly gone door-to-door to test Africans for coronavirus, many say regardless of whether they have travelled, show any symptoms, or have been in contact with Covid-19 patients.

Community leaders say that hundreds were forced out of their hotel rooms and homes into quarantine.

Video has emerged online of African people sleeping in hotel lobbies, on the streets, under bridges, and outside police stations.

The video filmed inside McDonald’s sparked anger both inside and outside China.

In recent years, the African community in Guangzhou has been dwindling. There were once thought to be hundreds of thousands from the continent conducting business in the city, but today the number has fallen to just thousands.

Many African feel that their communities have been the target of discriminatory measures. Some feel that the coronavirus is being used as an excuse to target businessmen who overstay their visas.

You may read: China tightens grip over coronavirus research

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