The Chinese government chartered planes and
vessels as it evacuated more than 3,000 of its nationals in Vietnam,
China's Xinhua news agency reported Sunday, following riots in recent
days that left two Chinese dead
and more than 100 injured. Among those evacuated were 16 critically
injured Chinese as well as staff from the China 19th Metallurgical Corp.
who were building an iron and steel complex in Vietnam's Ha Tinh
Province, Xinhua said.
Mobs looted and
burned their way last week through several of the industrial parks where
Chinese and other foreign manufacturers have set up over the past dozen
years to take advantage of Vietnam's low-cost, skilled workforce. The
rioting was initially a response to China's deployment of an oil rig in
South China Sea waters also claimed by Vietnam. But the violence also
indiscriminately hit businesses from Taiwan, Malaysia and elsewhere
whose owners had no relation to the dispute.
Vietnamese
authorities, stung by the violence and destruction to foreign-owned
factories, have signaled in recent days that they don't want to risk a
repeat. Mobile carriers sent repeated texts to Vietnamese subscribers,
passing along a message from Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung
asking people not to participate in illegal protests.
Violent protests targeting Chinese factories in Vietnam
have spilled over into the facilities of other global manufacturers. The
WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks with Willy Lin, deputy chairman of Federation
of Hong Kong Industries.
On Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City, police
carried away some protesters among the hundreds who had gathered at the
city's Notre Dame cathedral. Several appeared to have been detained.
There was no immediate statement from police on arrests or injuries.
In
Hanoi, hundreds of uniformed policemen and others in plainclothes
dispersed a group of about 100 people gathering at a park near China's
embassy, as police with loudspeakers ordered people to leave the area. A
perimeter of metal barriers was erected about 500 yards from the
embassy. "We are on our mission, and we ask you to leave the area," a
policeman said on a loudspeaker. No arrests were made. Elsewhere in the
city, large numbers of security officials and policemen were deployed to
parks, public spaces and intersections.
"The
police are just doing their job, and I'm here to show my patriotism and
to protest against the deployment of the Chinese oil rig," said a
protester who didn't want to be named.
Protesters march against China in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday.
Reuters
The violence has added to tensions
between China and Vietnam that were already high from the standoff near
the Paracel Islands, where China stationed a large oil rig two weeks
ago. Having traded recriminations over the oil rig, the governments
engaged in strained exchanges over the riots and the evacuations.
China's
Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the government had issued an
advisory warning against travel to Vietnam and was suspending some
diplomatic contacts. The violence and loss of life and property "have
undermined the atmosphere and conditions for exchanges and cooperation
between China and Vietnam," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
In
Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, protesters clapped and cheered, displaying
newspapers with stories about the South China Sea tensions. Uniformed
and plainclothes police with earpieces recorded protesters with video
cameras as the demonstrators chanted "Long live Vietnam!" and "The
Paracels and Spratlys belong to Vietnam," referring to two disputed
island chains.
One man waved a sign that
referred to the former South Vietnam, the U.S.'s ally in the Vietnam
War, and suggested that if the U.S. joined with Vietnam today, China
could be defeated. Police ripped the sign away and removed him from the
area. A truckload of security personnel arrived to break up the
gathering. Police with loudspeakers told people not to take part in
illegal protests and to go home. Security personnel appeared to
outnumber the protesters.
The rally got
off to a late start, as protesters were confronted with a much larger
police presence than in recent days. Last week, authorities allowed
larger groups to march throughout Ho Chi Minh City for hours. But after
the riots at several industrial parks later in the week, the government
pledged to maintain order in a bid to reassure foreign investors.
Sunday's
protesters weren't allowed near China's consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.
Most foreign-owned factories—such as the operations of Taiwanese
electronics giant Foxconn, a major supplier to Apple Inc.— stayed closed
over the weekend.
A protester marched in an anti-China protest in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday.
Reuters
In talks in Hanoi on Saturday to
arrange the evacuations, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister
Liu Jianchao
demanded Vietnam do more to protect Chinese citizens and their
property and arrest and punish those responsible for the violence,
according to a statement released by the foreign ministry.
"The
Chinese side demands the Vietnamese side handle well the work of caring
for the dead and treating the injured," the statement quoted Mr. Liu as
saying. He added: Vietnam "must ensure the violence does not happen
again."
That message was reiterated in a
phone call between China's and Vietnam's police chiefs. "China's
Ministry of Public Security is very much shocked and indignant at the
violence," Xinhua quoted China's Guo Shengkun as telling Vietnam's Tran
Dai Quang on Saturday. Mr. Guo said Vietnam bears what Xinhua called an
"unshirkable responsibility" for the violence.
Vietnam
said that the riots, which left about 140 people injured, were incited
by "bad individuals" and that about 300 people had been arrested.
The
Vietnamese economic and cultural representative office in Taiwan issued
a statement Sunday pledging compensation for damages and suggested that
one option would be to reduce or waive property or business taxes.
Affected companies could receive priority loans or have outstanding
debts forgiven, it said.
"The Vietnamese
government will do the best we can to help companies resume normal
production as soon as possible," the statement said.
—Jenny W. Hsu contributed to this article.
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