Chinese Fleeing Vietnam into Cambodia as Tensions Mount
Heng Reaksmey
VOA Khmer
Chinese Fleeing Vietnam into Cambodia as Tensions Mount
Chinese investors arrive at the Bavet border checkpoint on the Cambodia-Vietnam border on Wednesday, May 14, 2014, after fleeing anti-China violence in southern Vietnam that has seen at least 15 foreign factories burned, file photo.
PHNOM PENH —
Chinese citizens in Vietnam have begun crossing the border into Cambodia, with anti-Chinese protests over the South China Sea conflict turning violent there, officials said Wednesday.
Thousands of protesters have gathered in Vietnam, angered by the deployment by China of an oilrig in contested waters in the sea. Vietnamese mobs have set fire to Chinese and Taiwanese factories in the south of the country.
That has caused “a lot” of Chinese living there to leave for Cambodia, said Trung Van Thong, a spokesman for the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.
“They [Chinese] were not expelled from [Vietnam],” he told VOA Khmer. “It is their personal decision. I don’t know the reason why the Chinese no longer want to live there. I don’t know if they might want to move to Cambodia or other places.”
Factories Torched in Anti-China Protests in Vietnam
1/10Protesters targeted an industrial area in Binh Duong. The crowd set everything on fire, from materials, computers, equipments to other machines.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
2/10Protesters set truck on fire during a protest against China in the southern province of Binh Duong.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
3/10Protesters gathered at Amata Industrial Park, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
4/10Protesters gathered at Amata Industrial Park, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
5/10A foreign company displays banner supporting Vietnam in Dong Nai.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
6/10CEO Apple Tim Cook membuka acara Apple di Auditorium Bill Graham Civic di San Francisco, California. (AP/Eric Risberg)
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
7/10A factory in Binh Duong was set on fire. Banner says “We love Vietnam. Please protect our rice bowl."
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
8/10Protesters gathered at Amata Industrial Park, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
9/10Protesters gathered at Amata Industrial Park, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam.
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
10/10G'azo sektori
Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over a Chinese oil drilling platform deployed near the Paracel islands. (Courtesy photos taken in Binh Duong & Dong Nai Province)
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The number of Chinese who may have come across from Vietnam is unclear. Sok Phal, head of the Ministry of Interior’s immigration department, could not be reached for comment. Koueng Chhourn, chief of police for Svay Rieng province, where the border crossing at Bavet is situated, declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Sem Chi, head of the Association of Khmer Vietnamese in the Kingdom of Cambodia, said his members plan to protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh some time this week.
“We will hold [a demonstration] but wait until I come back [from the provinces] to discuss with our commission,” he said.
Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said such protest would not be allowed.
“Foreigners cannot use Cambodian territory to stage a protest against another group of foreigners,” he said. “It is not allowed by law."
