It's a sad indictment that in the 21st century that people in Edinburgh feel afraid to walk in the city centre because of their race.
I actually hope these incidents make the news abroad, as hopefully this will force/embarrass our politicians in the Scottish Gov to finally tackle this issue.
Chinese students who were due to begin studying at Edinburgh University have said they are now "living in fear". A group of three claim they were victims of a vile attack on Princes Street.
Yin Mo Ning, one of the students, told us the teenagers hurled vile phrases at them during the disturbance. She feels they were immediately targeted because of their ethnicity.
Yin and her friends have been left scared to travel into the city centre, and are reconsidering where they should live during their studies. Police Scotland confirmed two female teenagers have been charged in connection with an assault.
It is understood the incident is being treated as hate-related. This comes amid concerns from the Asian community, with a woman being "punched in the face" in Princes Street Gardens in July.
A Chinese woman, Chenxing Liu, told us she "won't go out alone" in Edinburgh after hearing of the troubles those in her community have faced. She told us of a growing sense of unease among her theatre company, who travelled to the capital for the Fringe.
Footage was also circulating online in August showing an Asian woman being egged on North Bridge.
Yin Mo Ning, one of the students who claims she was physically assaulted, told Edinburgh Live: "We were verbally abused, barged into and physically assaulted.
"One student was struck on the jaw after confronting them, causing a facial injury. There were many pedestrians of other ethnicities on the street at the time, but the group of teenagers did not attack anyone else. They directed their verbal abuse, barging and physical assault only at us.
"The fact that we were speaking Chinese and the fact their attack was directed only at us, we have good reason to believe that, after realising that we were Chinese, they deliberately turned back to attack us.
"We therefore believe this was not an ordinary street confrontation, but a targeted assault with a clear racial motivation."
Yin and her friends will begin studying in Edinburgh this month. They plan to live and study in the city, though are now having doubts about renting somewhere central.
She added: "As international students who are about to live in Edinburgh for an extended period, our day-to-day personal safety is now directly threatened by these continuing attacks. People with Chinese or East Asian appearances are being singled out in public places for harassment, having objects thrown at them, being barged into or being assaulted. This has caused us serious concern about safety in Edinburgh’s public spaces."
Yin told us she has been afraid to go to the city centre since the incident. The group try to travel outside together. She added: "Since the incident, we have not felt able to go near Princes Street or the surrounding area again. Even when we genuinely need to visit shops in the area to buy everyday necessities, we decide not to go because we are afraid.
"Shopping centres, Edinburgh Waverley Station and other shops near Princes Street are all places that are difficult for us to avoid entirely in our daily lives. We are now afraid to travel alone on the streets of Edinburgh. Even when passing near Princes Street during the day, we feel extremely tense.
"If we must go out, we travel together and try to use main roads. Whenever any one of us travels alone, she tells her friends her planned journey in advance and remains in real-time contact with them.
"Even when we are together, we immediately feel panicked and tense if we encounter anyone whose appearance or manner resembles that of the teenagers involved, or if we suddenly hear a loud noise. For several days after the assault, all three victims had difficulty falling asleep and woke suddenly during the night.
"We should have been looking forward to the approaching new academic year, but we are now more concerned about whether our daily journeys to university and the areas surrounding the campus are safe. This concern has significantly diminished the positive feelings we had before beginning our studies.
"We have recently been looking for accommodation in Edinburgh, but none of us feel able to consider properties near Princes Street because we are afraid of experiencing the same or a similar attack again."
Chenxing Liu, who works with Asian and Chinese Theatre company X Star Production, told Edinburgh Live she "no longer feels safe in Edinburgh". She added: "I studied in Australia when I was 15, so I’ve experienced racism. I have heard during Fringe time some people could see violence going on.
"There’s groups of teenagers in the city centre, everyone who is Chinese knows them. They’ve become famous on our social media. I don’t really ever feel safe in the street in the UK, but definitely not in Edinburgh now.
"Since the beginning of August, we’ve heard of friends being attacked. It was concerning this year as we were staying around 30 minutes from the city centre, travelling late at night.
"I was just sitting on the bus and this guy was staring at me. I felt scared and nervous, and I took my phone out to send my friend a voice note. I was being really quiet, and the guy turned round and said ‘excuse me, can you not talk?’
"I completely understand wanting a quiet journey, but there were people at the back yelling. Everyone was chatting away. He was targeting me because I’m Chinese, and he focused on me."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Two teenage females have been charged in connection with assault following a disturbance on Princes Street in Edinburgh around 7.50pm on Saturday, 1 August, 2026.
"Reports will be submitted to the relevant authorities. Enquiries are ongoing."
