China asks PNG to protect citizens after looting‏

China on Tuesday called on Papua New Guinea to protect Chinese citizens and businesses, which had been victimised by a wave of lootings in recent days. Looters have attacked Chinese businesses since last Wednesday, as a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment spread across the South Pacific island nation where China has invested in a major nickel mine.

An anti-Asian immigration march in the capital Port Moresby last week sparked the rioting, with many Papua New Guineans blaming the Chinese for their poor standard of living and unfair business practices, said local newspapers. "The Chinese government pays great attention to the safety of Chinese-invested firms and of Chinese people in Papua New Guinea," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing.

He said that while a few Chinese shops had been robbed, nobody had been injured. "We have already made representations with the Papua New Guinea government, asking them to immediately send police and increase their protection of Chinese business and people, as well as severely punish those responsible and ensure there is no repetition," Ma added. Police have said some of the latest attacks were probably not anti-Chinese but purely criminal acts.

The Australian government issued a travel advisory for Papua New Guinea on Tuesday due to "high levels of serious crime". "The situation is highly unpredictable," it said. A mountainous nation of some 6 million people north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is rich in a variety of minerals and other resources but has significant crime problems.

About 85 percent of its people eke out subsistence lifestyles in jungle-clad mountain villages. Last week, construction of a $1.7 billion nickel mine and processing plant was temporarily stopped after a fight between about 70 Papua New Guinean and Chinese workers. The fighting broke out between workers and villagers angry at Chinese managers over an industrial accident.

The project is majority-owned by state-owned China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp. Local workers protested last year over working conditions at the remote site. Many Chinese settlers arrived in Papua New Guinea around the time of World War Two, with subsequent waves of migration since. - BEIJING (Reuters)

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