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Relations between
China and Turkey have soured over Beijing's policies toward the
Uighur people, whose traditional home is in the far western
region of Xinjiang. Many Turks see themselves as sharing
religious and cultural ties with Uighurs, who have reportedly
been banned from worship and fasting during the holy month of
Ramadan.
"Uighurs live and work in peace and contentment and enjoy
freedom of religion under the rules in the constitution,"
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a
regular briefing. "So the so-called 'Xinjiang ethnic problem'
you mentioned that has been raised in some reports simply does
not exist."
Hundreds of protesters marched on the Chinese consulate in
Istanbul on Sunday, bearing flags and chanting anti-China
slogans outside the building.
Turkey vowed last week to keep its doors open to Uighur migrants
fleeing persecution in China. Turkey has also irked China by
expressing concern over the reports of restrictions on Uighurs
during Ramadan.
Hundreds of people have been killed over the past three years in
a series of attacks in Xinjiang. Beijing has blamed the attacks
on Islamist militants who seek to form an independent state
called East Turkestan.
(Reporting By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
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