Officials called it an "isolated incident" when a brawl between African scholars and university security guards in Nanjing two weeks ago sparked street protests by Chinese students. But charges that the foreign students were beaten and tortured surfaced in Nanjing last week, and that ugly episode was followed by further anti-African demonstrations. The outburst of racism has stirred international concern and exposed a fissure in the special relationship that China once enjoyed with African nations.
After the initial Nanjing fracas, some 140 African and other foreign students were held under protective guard at a guesthouse for ten days. On Dec. 31,...