rascist “drug bust” in sanlitun.

The international media is just starting to pick this story up, but here in Beijing, local blogs and web forums are blazing with reports of a racially motivated drug bust in Sanlitun on Friday night. About 20-30 men of African or Caribbean descent suspected of selling drugs were detained and beaten in the popular bar street area by Chinese parlimentary police, and there are various reports currently floating around the web by witnesses stating that the troops “targeted anyone on the street with black skin”.

A search of various online blogs finds no concrete photographic or video evidence of the bust, but a user on the popular Beijing web forum The Beijinger who was on site during the arrests posted on the thread relating to the incident, stating “It was a complete blanket arrest, the guys who knew they were not guilty of anything didn’t run away just stood around watching what was going on/chatting/having a drink and then bam, they get arrested.” Another user posted “A friend of mine was at Bar Blue when they went in on Friday. She was there on a date with a guy from Cameroon who was amongst the folks that were detained. She called from there all shook up because they came in with dogs and just dragged 5 people or so at random…. she’s still freaked out about the whole thing!”

While it is a common known fact that the Sanlitun area is a popular place of business for drug dealers of African descent, the arrests of Friday night seem to have been at random; many of the men picked up were tourists, or students and a few of the men were later released without charge. From the news source quoted on the forum thread: “Some of the men were later released without charge. The Grenadian ambassador’s son was sent to hospital with a concussion. “Obviously I’m very angry,” the ambassador said. “My son was arrested and beaten for no reason whatsoever. I will be taking this up with the authorities and looking into the matter.” A police officer at Sanlitun station said that the incident was part of an anti-drug operation.”

According to the story currently posted at Reuters Africa, The Ministry of Public Security and the Beijing police both declined immediate comment.