Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil is the latest international sports celebrity to be at the center of controversy over China's hard-line policies, igniting fury among Chinese internet users by denouncing the country's mass detention of Muslims
The German soccer star Mesut Ozil is the latest international sports celebrity to be at the center of controversy over China's hard-line policies, igniting fury among Chinese internet users by denouncing the country's mass detention of Muslims.
Arsenal quickly tried to distance itself from Ozil's posts, but the club's response did not stave off a wave of online anger in China. Turkish demonstrators in Ankara stage a protest demanding an end to mass detentions of Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in China., a stridently nationalist Chinese tabloid, on Saturday. It cited an outpouring of furious comment on the Chinese internet, including an announcement that a fan chat room devoted to Ozil would close.
In his comments, Ozil referred to the widespread reluctance of many Muslim-majority countries to openly criticise China over its policies in Xinjiang. Chinese officials may worry that his statement could inspire more Muslims abroad to demand action against Beijing. The Chinese government has denounced the reports as false or as part of a conspiracy to foment ethnic unrest in Xinjiang. The government also issued English-language videos to make the case that China was menaced by extremist violence among Uighurs.
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