bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

GOLD fever has spread through the mountains of Na Ri and the Government can no longer ignore the problem.

  A smattering of reports in Vietnam's state press has revealed exploitation and possible corruption on a grand scale as a local gold rush takes hold.

  About 700 children are toiling in 'near-slave' conditions for the owners of illegal mines in Na Ri, 120 kilometres from Hanoi.

  Adult workers are reportedly being driven to the limits of endurance, then sacked without being paid.

  The Prime Minister's office has launched an investigation. And as some leave more desperate than when they started, thousands more flock to Na Ri as mine owners spread tales of sudden riches.

  Drugs and prostitution surround the hoards, creating a crime wave that has seen angry mobs kill eight suspected thieves in recent weeks.

  The bulk of the mines are illegal but foremen pay 'taxes' to district officials.

  'Social order is threatening to break down,' the state-run Vietnam News reported.

  Gold, especially in rural towns and villages, is considered the safest commodity in Vietnam, where opulence can be still hidden from the authorities and a traditional mistrust of banks remains.

   It seems more serious than a gold boom 18 months ago when armed volunteers were called into mountains of Binh Thuan province in the south to stop violence between farmers and prospectors digging their fields.

  Some perished after believing rumours of a gold stash hidden under a turbulent mountain waterfall.

  For many government and Communist Party officials in the comparative civility of Hanoi, the news from Na Ri is chilling.

  'Bac Thai is not very far away,' a senior Hanoi official said. 'We cannot ignore the issues raised by something like the gold rush. It shows just what capitalism can do when it is unleashed.

  'We must find a solution and reduce the gap between rich and poor.'   Another official said: 'We must act now. Unless we do, problems in the provinces are going to get away from us. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will just spiral out on their own.'   His comment typifies the thoughts of many party members now preparing for the first congress in five years scheduled for June.

  Officially, Vietnam's economy expanded by 9.5 per cent last year after five years of steady increases averaging 8.2 per cent. But the figure is far higher in the country's relatively few cities, where the boom is centred. The aim is to build an industrial economy twice its current size in five years.

  With such goals set, many say that the congress must determine how to spread that development and wealth to provinces.

  Party General Secretary Do Muoi has pledged greater state control of the economy in some of his first addresses this year.

  Bac Thai is a particularly hard-hit region, largely ignored by foreign investors.

  Situated roughly in the centre of northern Vietnam, it is one of the country's only provinces without a border, a major river network or a coastline to generate wealth.



Gold rush mayhem