Mexico City, May 18, (dpa/GNA) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has
apologized to China on behalf of his country for a massacre of more than 300 Chinese by rebels in
the northern city of Torreon 110 years ago during the Revolutionary War.
Between May 13 and 15, 1911, a total of 303 Chinese people were killed in Torreon.
Mexico must not only recognize its responsibility and guilt, but also vow to never to allow racism,
discrimination and xenophobia again, Lopez Obrador said on Monday at a joint ceremony with the
Chinese ambassador to Mexico, Zhu Qingqiao, in Torreon.
Thousands of Chinese went to Mexico to work from the late 19th century. Many worked on the
construction of the railway network, while others worked on farms, in mines, as traders or in
laundries.
They encountered hatred, violence and discrimination, which led many to leave Mexico again in the
decades that followed.
According to figures from the Mexican government, the Chinese population shrank from 15,960 to
just 4,800 between 1930 and 1940.
Mexico has been largely silent about the massacre in Torreon for the past 110 years.
GNA