Chinese workers in Kyrgyzstan are known for their stoicism amid rising xenophobia and appalling labor conditions. But something seems to have snapped this week for a crew of migrants toiling to build an oil refinery in the northern city of Tokmak. According to Kyrgyz and Russian press reports, 39 Chinese migrants downed tools, blocked entry to the facility and took several Kyrgyz employees hostage on June
30.Police fired shots into the air to break up the protest, according to a police source. Twenty-five of the migrants were working illegally, police say, and have been deported. The rest
have been fined. The riot coincided with payday and the Chinese appear
to have felt shortchanged. According to Kyrgyz media outlet Knews,
citing local police in contact with the refinery’s Chinese director, the
migrants were angered that pay was being withheld to cover the cost of
their transport from China. The Chinese Embassy in Bishkek has not
commented on the incident.
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