Thailand deported about 100 Chinese citizens back to China on Wednesday, most of whom are from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China. The move drew criticism from the Turkish and US governments, as well as some human rights groups. Pan-Turkish protestors even attacked the Thai consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Reports said more people were involved in this deportation. About 170 people were identified as Turkish citizens and were deported to Turkey. Some 50 people are still in detention in Thailand, with identification work underway.

Actually, many are clear that those "Turkish citizens" deported are mainly illegal immigrants from China. Turkish government officials have helped them change their nationality.

It is no surprise to see the US getting involved in the dispute. The criticism of "human rights violations" has been repeated numerous times. Arguing with them is meaningless.

Some human rights groups claimed that those Uyghurs will face torture or go missing if they were deported back to China. Such allegations are ridiculous. China has been cracking down on forced confessions in detention houses. It is getting increasingly risky for a police officer to kick an ordinary suspect in any case.

The most perplexing thing is today's Turkey. China-Turkey ties have been developing well in recent years. Turkey has become a hot destination for Chinese tourists. Turkey is also a key stop on the new Silk Road program initiated by China. But pan-Turkism is running wild.

Some Turkish people staged a protest last week after hearing rumors that Muslims in Xinjiang were forbidden to fast during Ramadam. The protest became violent when the participants attacked some Korean tourists whom they believed to be Chinese.

Some of the illegal immigrants from Xinjiang have criminal records for participating in terrorist activities. Part of them went further to the Islamic State through Turkey. Terrorists who snuck back to China took the same route. Cutting off the route is a legitimate action by China and Thailand, which concerns China's national security as well as international anti-terrorism.

In order to win votes, the Turkish politicians may pander to the extremists who smash foreign consulates. But if the fire of pan-Turkism is fanned up, the country itself may be the first to get burned.

China and Thailand's conventional handling of the illegal immigrants has become controversy in some news reports. But China and Thailand did not do anything wrong in this case. We understand why Turkish society is having trouble with this. China will uphold its principles. As for the US and some so-called human rights groups, China will just ignore them.