Đoàn Huy (Danlambao) * Translated by Như Ngọc - Workers in Binh Duong are very angry about suffering a stained reputation after the riots, which happened on May 13, 2014, at the industrial parks in the province. The incident had left many factories and foreign invested enterprises under attack, looting and arson.
Since early May 2014, while China has blatantly placed the HD-981 rig and deployed more than 80 vessels including guided missile warships within the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam, the Vietnamese across the country have expressed extreme indignation over the increasingly aggressive behaviors of China.
Vietnamese at home and abroad have staged anti-China protests to express patriotism and solidarity in defending the Vietnam’s territories. On May 11, 2014, the protests initiated by 20 civil society organizations, for the first time, were successfully held in 3 regions across the country despite the fact that the state-backed protesters from the Communist Youth Union attempted to hijack the protests.
Rioters destroyed a business office in Binh Duong
Chinese enterprises could obtain news about the riots in advance
On May 12, 2014, Binh Duong workers also launched an anti-China protest. The peaceful demonstration was derived from Thuan An Town, Binh Duong Province.
However, on May 13, that peaceful demonstration was turned into riots by a group of strangers carrying the red and yellow star flags and wearing red shirts. Before the riots took place, those strangers aggressively demanded foreign companies to suspend production activities and allow workers to take part in the protest.
It’s worth noting that China-backed businesses already knew the riots would happen in advance as they dismissed workers early for shutting down the plants and closing offices.
The protest hit its peak around 4 p.m. the same day when workers rallied at companies owned by businesses from China, Taiwan and South Korea. Most people shouted slogans against Chinese invasion.
The riots broke out around 5 p.m. when about 20 strangers broke into offices to destroy property of foreign companies in the industrial park, and then set factories afire. Most workers, who engaged in peaceful protest, were caught surprised by the violence.
Pouring oil into the fire
Around 6 p.m., some workers left the protest sites and returned to their rented rooms. When they withdrew cash from the ATM for their April 2014 pay, which is monthly deposited on the 10th, they got a disturbing message: "Your account is locked."
This kind of trouble happened to workers of most China-backed companies, fueling their anger and raising the suspicion of abetting banks.
Words of accounts have been locked, which would mean a loss of a month's wage, immediately spread among the workers. Many workers hastily returned to factories to contact their employers regarding the problem, but the violence had forced business owners to flee to safety.
Looting or saving properties?
By now, the strangers already stormed the factories to make rampages. They loudly vowed to set afire everything if the workers did not quickly empty the factories. Following the announcement, many workers rushed in to bring out whatever they could.
In the views of public opinion, those workers acted like looters and thieves, and should be subject to condemnation for acting against the law.
Police deliberately delayed to intervene
After the riots, which took place in the evening and during the night of May 13, Binh Duong residents have raised questions about the responsibilities of police in addressing the situation.
First, the slow police response to the violence from the riots makes people very indignant. Why didn’t police intervene and prevent the rampages from happening in a timely manner despite the fact that Binh Duong police had held a staff meeting in the morning of May 13 to setup a contingency plan?
Second, why did the Chinese bosses know hours in advance that the protest would later turn into riots, resulting in smashing and burning of factories? Being informed, most Chinese companies had suspended production activities and dismissed workers a few hours earlier.
Third, why were workers’ pay accounts locked out before the riots took place? Was it a conspiracy to deliberately pour oil on the fire?
Chinese intelligence involved?
After the riots in Binh Duong, Ha Tinh and elsewhere on May 13 and 14, people started to suspect Chinese intelligence played a directive role.
Chinese intelligence allegedly carried out the tricky works to create the riots in order to disrupt the works of millions of workers in Vietnam, and to deface the image of Vietnam in the eyes of international investors. The rampages have caused huge damages on the economy, possibly requiring Vietnam to pay compensation to businesses from taxpayers’ money.
The riots would create divisions between the people of Vietnam and China, providing advantages for the Chinese Communist Party to put pressure on the pro-China wing of the Vietnamese Communist Party to control, prohibit, and suppress the upcoming patriotic protests in Vietnam.
Obviously, the Vietnamese authorities have, recently, aggressively cracked down on protesters in Hanoi, Saigon and Nghe An.
The riots may provide the Chinese communist authorities an excuse to invade Vietnam citing the needs of protecting the Chinese nationals and interests in Vietnam.
Translated by Như Ngọc (Danlambao)
