AFRICAN STUDENTS LEAVE CHINA OVER RACISM ISSUE

A group of African students who say they can no longer tolerate the racism directed against them left China for home this week. The 15 Senegalese were the first group to leave since racial violence erupted in December. Many of the approximately 1,500 Africans studying in China said they wanted to go home, but did not have authorization from their embassies.

Their exodus was sparked by four days of mass anti-black demonstrations in southern Nanjing city, following a clash between African and Chinese students at the Hehai University on Christmas Eve. The authorities denied the demonstrations were racially motivated.