Nanjing anti-African protests The Nanjing Anti-African protests were mass demonstrations and riots against African students in Nanjing , China , which lasted from December 1988 , to the following January . They were a precursor to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . Background Animosity towards African students has been a recurring event since the early 1960s , when scholarships provided by the Chinese government allowed many students from 'China-friendly ' African countries to study in Beijing . This policy was originally based on the idea of 'third world solidarity ' and Mao 's linking of the fight against 'white imperialism ' with Marxist class war . Many of these African students were given larger educational grants than native Chinese students , and racial hostility towards the Africans was a regular occurrence . Most of these students returned to their home countries before reaching the end of their courses due to poor living conditions and the political uncertainties of the Mao era . From the mid-1970s , China allowed African students to study outside of Beijing . As well as resentment about the larger stipends given to African students , hostility from Chinese students towards Africans also flared up when there was contact between African men and Chinese women . In an incident in Shanghai in 1979 , African students were attacked after playing loud music and consorting with Chinese women . These clashes became more common during the 1980s and sometimes led to arrests and deportations of African students . Cultural differences in dating habits added to the tensions - whereas Chinese students were expected to know each other for some time before dating , African students often asked strangers to date . Nanjing protests On December 24 , 1988 two male African students were entering their campus at Hehai University in Nanjing with two Chinese women . The occasion was a Christmas Eve party . A quarrel about correct identification between one of the Africans and a Chinese security guard , who had ordered the Africans to register their guests , led to a brawl between the African and Chinese students on the campus which lasted till the morning , leaving 13 students injured. 300 Chinese students , spurred by false rumors that a Chinese man had been killed by the Africans , broke into and set about destroying the Africans ' dormitories , shouting slogans such as `` Kill the black devils ! `` After the police had dispersed the Chinese students , many Africans fled to the railway station in order to gain safety at various African embassies in Beijing . The authorities prevented the Africans from boarding the trains so as to question those involved in the brawl . Soon their numbers increased to 140 , as other African and non-African foreign students , fearing violence , arrived at the station asking to be allowed to go to Beijing . By this time , Chinese students from Hehai University had joined up with students from other Nanjing universities to make up a 3000 strong demonstration which called on government officials to prosecute the African students and reform the system which gave foreigners more rights than the Chinese . On the evening of 26 December , the marchers converged on the railway station whilst holding banners calling for Human Rights and political reform . Chinese police managed to isolate the non-Chinese students from the marchers and moved them to military guest house outside Nanjing . The demonstrations were declared illegal , and riot police were brought in from surrounding provinces to pacify the demonstrations which lasted several more days . Aftermath In January , three of the African students were deported for being suspected of starting the brawl . The other students returned to Hehai University , and were required to follow new regulations . These included a night-time curfew , having to report to university authorities before leaving the campus , and having no more than one Chinese girlfriend whose visits would be limited to the lounge area . Guests were still required to be registered . Anti-African demonstrations spread to other cities , including Shanghai and Beijing . These were smaller than the Nanjing protests , though the Beijing protests were one of the currents which lead to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . Nanjing protests and Tiananmen Square protests The course of the Nanjing protests went from Anti-African sentiment to banners proclaiming Human Rights . The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 came 4 months after the Anti-African protests in Nanjing and some elements of the Nanjing protests were still evident , such as banners proclaiming `` No Offend Chinese Women '' [ sic ] . Further reading Anti-Africanism in China : An Investigation into Chinese Attitudes towards Black Students in the People 's Republic of China. , Undergraduate Thesis - Mira Sorvino China as a Third World State : Foreign Policy and Official National Identity , Van Ness , Peter , Cornell University Press , 1993 Collective Identity , Symbolic Mobilization , and Student Protest in Nanjing , China , 1988-1989 , Crane , George T The Discourse of Race in Modern China , Dikötter , Frank , Stanford University Press , 1992 Racial Identities in China : Context and Meaning , Dikötter , Frank , 1994 An African Student in China , Hevi , Emmanuel , Pall Mall , 1963 Anti-Black Racism in Post-Mao China , Sautman , Barry , 1994 Racial Nationalism or National Racism ? , Sullivan , Michael J , 1994 Categories : 1988 | History of Nanjing | Protests | Riots | Anti-national sentiment | Hate crimes In other languages : Español | 中文 