What Happened Around 300 protesters rallied in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Jan. 7 to call for the deportation of illegal Chinese migrants, oppose the granting of citizenship to Chinese who marry Kyrgyz nationals, challenge the persecution of ethnic Kyrgyz in re-education camps in China's Xinjiang province and push against China's broader economic ties to the country. More protests were called for Jan. 17. Following these demonstrations, Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov emphasized the importance of China to Kyrgyzstan's economy. "Those who are seeking to spoil our relations with China will not achieve their aim," he said Jan. 9. His remarks came one day after Kubatbek Boronow, Kyrgyzstan's first deputy prime minister, dismissed protesters' claims of Chinese migration into Kyrgyzstan that have also circulated on social media.