The Chinese government has issued a travel warning for citizens in and traveling to Turkey while the two countries remain at odds over Turkish claims of mistreatment of the Uighur minority in China and the fate of a prominent Uighur musician, the Artı Gerçek news website reported on Wednesday.
The travel warning suggests that Chinese citizens living in Turkey as well as Chinese tourists visiting the country take precautions regarding their personal safety.
Tensions began when Turkey cited reports that Uighur poet and musician Abdurrehim Heyit had died in a detention camp and claimed that detained Uighurs were being subjected to torture in “concentration camps,” calling China’s treatment of Uighurs a “great embarrassment for humanity.”
In response, China had released a video allegedly showing Heyit alive, asking Turkey to withdraw its “false” claims.
The video was released by China Radio International’s Turkish language service, which said Turkey’s criticism of China was unfounded.