‘We have zero tolerance for discrimination’ — Chinese envoy reacts to harassment of Nigerians

The Chinese government says it treats all foreign nationals equally and has zero tolerance for discrimination.

It said this after Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, had a meeting with Zhou Pingjian, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, over the reports on the maltreatment of Nigerians in the Asian country.

The speaker drew the attention of the ambassador to allegations that Nigerians are forced to go into a 14-day quarantine after spending the same period earlier and testing negative for COVID-19.

Some videos, including one showing a Nigerian diplomat protesting against the seizure of passports of some Nigerians have gone viral.

Gbajabiamila said Nigeria would not accept maltreatment of its citizens

“As a government, we will not allow Chinese or other nationals to be maltreated just as we will not allow Nigerians to be maltreated in other countries,” Gbajabiamila had said.

“The way you treat your citizens, we expect that’s how you’ll treat others. We will not tolerate our citizens breaking your laws, but the crime of one citizen cannot be used to stigmatize the whole country.

“It appears that’s what happened in this case. You can’t use one brush to smear the whole wall. Whatever the reason, it cannot be used and taken out on the entire community in China.”

Responding, Pingjian said the Chinese authorities take the relationship with Nigeria seriously.

“Until we receive a full report from back home, I cannot act, but I can assure you it is not a policy issue,” the ambassador said.

But in a tweet later, the Chinese embassy quoted Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, as saying that China and African countries are united “more than ever.”

“FM Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said: ‘China and African countries are united more than ever, demonstrating brotherhood in times of adversity. We treat all foreign nationals equally in China. We reject differential treatment, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination’,” the embassy tweeted.