Anti-China riots in Vietnam may have turned deadly (Version English Only)

From Want China Times

• Staff Reporter
 
• 2014-05-14
 
• 17:48 (GMT+8)

Anti-China protesters riot at an industrial park in southern Vietnam, May 14. (Internet photo)

At least two people have allegedly been killed amid escalating violence in Vietnam as several Chinese and Taiwanese factories were set ablaze by anti-China protesters.

Thousands of workers in industrial parks across southern Vietnam reportedly smashed gates and damaged property as they targeted Chinese factories, though many Taiwanese and Hong Kong-financed companies were also affected as locals were unable to tell the difference and apparently went after any building featuring signs with Chinese characters.

Management at the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park said at least three of its factories were set on fire on Tuesday night, though a local official claims as many as 15 factories were set ablaze. Unverified reports claim that at least three other industrial parks were facing similar problems and that two people have been killed during the rioting.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the violence and expressed serious concerns over the safety of Taiwanese nationals in the Southeast Asian country, adding that such the irrational violence has hardened the long-term relationship between the two countries and will affect Taiwanese investment in the country.

Taiwanese foreign minister David Lin said while two Taiwanese businessmen have been injured, with one requiring three stitches after being struck on the head, the violence had not reached a level where evacuation was necessary.

Vietnamese authorities have already deployed military police and anti-riot troops into Binh Duong province, where the violence has been concentrated, and Taiwan's representative in Vietnam has also arrived on the scene to offer his assistance, Lin added.

Protests are also continuing outside the Chinese embassy in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi as well as in Ho Chi Minh City, with suggestions of tacit permission from the Vietnamese government.

The Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily reported that the Chinese embassy in Hanoi has received dozens of frantic phone calls from local Chinese people in Vietnam asking for help.

The protests were sparked by a tense standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese naval ships near a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 4, where both sides were said to have rammed the other and with China deploying water cannons.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Vietnamese hackers have attacked numerous Chinese government websites, with Chinese hackers retaliating against more than 220 Vietnamese government and corporate websites in return by placing China's national flag on their home pages.

Military websites also claim that the People's Liberation Army's South Sea Fleet is gathering a large number of warships as a precaution in case the rising tensions spiral out of control.