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SCMP Editorial

Anti-government protesters in Vietnam who are using historic wariness towards ethnic Chinese as a cover for their frustrations are treading a damaging path. The nations are working together on the shared development offered by the “Belt and Road Initiative”, but the demonstrations stir unjustified anger and resentment.
As has happened from time to time in recent years, passions may spill over into unrest that can harm ethnic ties, diplomatic relations and foreign investment.
Those behind the tactics should not target particular groups as a way to broach issues with authorities and instead think more laterally about how best to have their views heard.
Vietnamese see special economic zones as assault from China
Dozens have been arrested and hurt across Vietnam this month in violent demonstrations ostensibly against the planned creation of three special economic zones.


The country already has 18 zones, but the legislation for the new ones would have enabled foreign investors to lease land for up to 99 years.
Given most investors in the country are from mainland China or Taiwan, to some Vietnamese that seemed like selling territory to the Chinese, a combustive suggestion. A vote on the law has been postponed to at least October.
American arrested in Vietnam ‘regrets’ breaking the law
For centuries, Chinese rulers invaded and conquered Vietnamese land and, in 1979, the nations fought a month-long border war. Both also contest territory in the South China Sea.
Drilling by China in the disputed waters in 2014 sparked protests that led to four Chinese deaths and the looting and damaging of factories, and there were more demonstrations in 2016, when a Taiwanese-owned factory spilled toxic waste in central Vietnam.
President Xi Jinping and Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong agreed during a state visit by the Chinese leader last November to strengthen their nations’ development partnership and boost cooperation.
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Their foreign ministers vowed in April to peacefully resolve disputes in the South China Sea. With such progress, the Vietnamese need not fear a territorial grab by China.
Behind the latest protests, as shown by the variety of banners during the demonstrations, are issues including a government crackdown on dissent, a cybersecurity law that the National Assembly recently approved and claimed confiscation of land by authorities.
The clash of interests in Vietnam’s anti-China protests
The chairwoman of parliament, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, responded to the latest unrest by promising that people’s opinions “will always be heard”. Activists who complain about the party’s monopoly of power are bound to view such words as mere rhetoric. But the government’s decision to delay and most likely rethink the special economic zones law shows it is not deaf to concerns. The use by protesters of anti-Chinese feelings to mask domestic worries is a flawed, and potentially harmful, approach.


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Vietnam

Anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam fuelled by fears at home carry risk

A Vietnamese protester holds a placard reading 'Against leasing land in special economic zones for 99 years' during a rally in Ho Chi Minh city against a draft law on the Special Economic Zone on June 10, 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE/STR

‘Don’t give our land away’: the clash of interests in Vietnam’s anti-China protests

Vietnamese protesters shout slogans against a proposal to grant foreign companies lengthy land leases during a demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018. Photo: AFP

Vietnamese protesters shout slogans against a proposal to grant companies lengthy land leases during a demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018. The draft law at the centre of the furore would allow 99-year concessions in planned special economic zones, which some view as sweetheart deals for foreign and specifically Chinese firms. / AFP PHOTO / Kao NGUYEN

epa06800140 Vietnamese protesters hold banners during a rally against a draft law on the Special Economic Zone, at a street in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 10 June 2018 (issued 11 June 2018). EPA-EFE/STR

American arrested in Vietnam ‘regrets’ breaking the law

Vietnamese protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10, 2018. Photo: AFP

Vietnamese protesters display placards during a demonstration near the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi on June 10, 2018. At least a dozen people were detained in Vietnam's capital on June 10, according to an AFP correspondent on the scene, as anger mounts over a proposal to grant companies lengthy land leases. / AFP PHOTO / -

(FILES) This handout file photo taken on June 2, 2018 released to AFP on June 16, 2018 by Mary Daniel shows US citizen William Anh Nguyen, who was detained in Ho Chi Minh City on June 10 during a massive rally, posing for a photo in New Haven, Connecticut. William Anh Nguyen, detained in Vietnam for 'causing public disorder' at violent protests last week, appeared on state television in Vietnam late on June 18, 2018 to say he 'regrets' breaking the law and vowing to stay away from rallies. / AFP PHOTO / Courtesy of Mary Daniel / Handout / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Courtesy of Mary Daniel" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO ARCHIVES

China’s potential control over economic zones leads to more protests in Vietnam

Protests against the proposed economic zone legislation took place across the country, including Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Handout

Opinion

Comment

Potentially harmful demonstrations against planned special economic zones mask domestic worries from a crackdown on dissent to a cybersecurity law


Anti-mainland China sentiments