From The Independent (UK)
Police order hotels in Guangzhou to reject guests from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq
Police in China have reportedly ordered hotels to reject guests from five Muslim majority countries.
Budget hotels in the southern city of Guangzhou said they had received notices from police beginning in March, ordering them to turn away guests from Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Afghanistan.
China’s foreign ministry said it had never heard of the policy, but several hotel workers have corroborated reports of a ban.
A hotel worker told the South China Morning Post that local police had told staff they must turn away guests from the five countries until September 10, but had not explained why.
“I’m not clear of the reason. We just can’t take them,” a worker in another hotel told Reuters.
The ban has not been extended to upmarket hotels, or to budget hotels that belong to international or domestic chains. Three hotels identified by Reuters were all independent and charged around $23 a night.
The rule coincided with a development forum held in Guangzhou on 25 and 26 August, and will extend until after the G20 summit set to take place in Hangzhou, 620 miles away from Guangzhou, on 4 and 5 September.
Despite the large distance between the two cities, Chinese media speculated the rule was a security measure related to the summit, which will be attended by high profile world leaders including US President Barack Obama.
