Composer Tuan Khanh/Translate by Jasmine Tran – “Uncle, are those rioters the factory workers?” I ask the old safeguard. “No, not at all. It seems they might be hired professionals!” he replied, anxious. “Do you think they live locally or are they from elsewhere?” The guard was reluctant to answer. I turned to the female safeguard, who was about 30, “Why didn’t you call the police to help?". The girl fearfully responded, almost shouting: “What’s the point? They won’t come to help, or else they would only arrive when people don't need them anymore!”
*
Part 1
At 10am, on 14 May, Thien Van, Pham Thy, and I left for the Go Vap area
near Lai Thieu, as we learned that the factory workers in Tan Thoi Hiep
would begin their strike there. Fear of vandals and violence meant we
did not carry many things with us, aside from our courage. We tried to
find an explanation for the vandalism and robbery spreading through the
area, as described on so many social websites.
We had planned this journey the night before, when we received pictures
of armoured tanks approaching Saigon, and pictures of protestor vehicles
led by a mysterious Matiz. The crowd was well prepared with hammer and
sickle flags, and with star flags; they caused a real disturbance in
many streets. At night, writer Nguyen Dinh Bon texted me: “I am very
upset, they took advantage of the workers, and there will be
casualties.” Journalist Manh Kim rang, worried: “I am very anxious, so I
am wandering around to see how things are going, please keep in touch.”
At that moment I was on the way to the Chinese Consulate. The city was
silent, but our hearts were weighted down with concern about the
country’s well being.
On the way to Tan Thoi Hiep we met Huy Doan, a friend that lived
locally. Huy informed us that the place was deserted. Companies were
letting their workers leave, and putting up notices saying they were not
Chinese-owned companies. They were all frightened.
As it was near midday, the weather in May was extremely hot and
irritating, making people hurry about to reach shade. Surprisingly,
after a short ride, we found lots of motorbikes ahead, engines roaring
and horns blearing, carrying men and women with flags. Occasionally they
shouted: “Long live Vietnam" and “Down with China” to keep the troupe
together. Guessing that they would go to the industrial parks of Song
Than, Binh Duong, we followed.
It seemed to me that nobody was taking charge of the area. I saw no
traffic police standing on the streets where they used to be stationed
everyday; this was an inexplicable absence. I felt lost and very
confused as we joined the crowd. We saw that these protestors had
apparently taken control of the town without any obstructing force. The
only small effort we could see were the quiet but brave attempts of the
civil society activists, trying to cool down the intensity of the crowd.
These young activists, on their own motorbikes, were riding side by
side with the protestors, giving them copies of a plea. It contained an
urgent call for the “fellow workers in Binh Duong and of the nation to
remain calm, and not to vandalize or damage company possessions, as such
behaviour would only create hardship for Vietnam”. Of course, whilst
some people read them, others threw them away.
The efforts to cool down the crowd’s rage were really admirable. Right
in the heart of the Song Than Industrial Park fire, amidst the rage of
the rowdy riot, stood a group of youths bravely holding the banner: “Protest the right way. Do not vandalize others' possessions. Do not take others' possessions”
My heart tightened. I wondered if there would be any situation in which
the feverish mood of the crowd would turn against them; did these
courageous young people risk becoming sacrificial victims?
On the way back to Thuan An commune, we couldn’t believe what we saw.
Numerous companies were set ablaze and destroyed… the scene was no
different from the aftermath of a battlefield. Nearly 100% of the
factories were closed. When we arrived there, it was already the third
day into the ongoing riot, yet there were no signs of security, traffic
police or mobile police along the dozen kilometre long roads. Fear could
be felt everywhere. ATMs did not operate, cash had been emptied. Many
banks had increased security measures, and the branches in areas where
incidents had occurred were ordered not to keep large amounts of money
The Song Tain Company was one of the most damaged places. The whole
factory had been set afire. The fire, which had spread to the street,
melted and burnt large areas of the asphalt. Fences collapsed. Vandalism
and office papers could be seen everywhere. The rubble was still
smoking. The place appeared to have been vandalised more than once. The
assault and robbery caused the owner to ask for help. On the afternoon
of 14 May, a group of 5 or 6 mobile police had been sent there and stood
guard in the shade, behind the company’s wall. But it was now evident
that there was little left for them to protect.
A local told us that a few companies had asked the mobile police to
protect some of their possessions (such as storage, trucks etc), which
had survived the ruins. He said “Apparently the companies may have to
pay for them to work outside regular hours.” On our way, we witnessed
dozens of factories that had been damaged, burnt and robbed, whilst the
amount of the police present were barely a handful. But there was
something relaxed in the manner of the police, showing they were not
really stressed.
Our impressions were affirmed once again when we arrived at another
Taiwan owned company. Marked by a mass of black smoke rising into the
sky, the smoke could be seen from two or three kilometres away. Here,
the company’s name was unknown as all the signs had been smashed. The
concrete letters were scattered here and there, still alight. A squad of
mobile police sat in the shade, eating their meals. There were no signs
of a coming fire engine. A beverage vendor nearby told us that the fire
had started in the riot from around 5 - 6 in the morning, nobody had
put it down, and all the managers had escaped. Most remarkably however,
amidst the general crowd, there were one or two people dressed
differently to the workers, could not hide their irritated faces as we
talked and took pictures. We may even have gotten into trouble if we
hadn’t quickly departed the place.
It was over midday, but the heat of the weather did not match the
intensity of the situation. The troupes carrying red flags, batons, and
slogans roared and rushed towards the companies in Binh Duong industrial
parks. Of course, we did not see any police. We passed a few smashed
security guard booths, though nobody was on duty there. The town was
stirring and devastated.
Walking further, we found ourselves surrounded by a nasty group, with
about 20 to 30 main principle leaders. They always led the troupe,
carrying dangerous weapons and shouting at people to keep them in with
the group. As they passed, the faces of safeguards from the security
companies were misshapen in fear. In front of the companies, banners
were hung up: “We support Vietnam”, “Protest against China”, “I love Vietnam”…
whilst everyone knew these could be lies, in this case the lies could
have had saved the lives and possessions of many people. However, in
front of overturned fences, banners saying “Glory to the Vietnamese
Communist Party”, “Long live Vietnam”…had been thrown all over the
ground. This last attempt had ultimately been useless in some areas.
At another Vietnam-Taiwan company, along the road leading to the company gates, we saw displayed many posters saying “Hoang Sa – Truong Sa –VN” as
a means of protection. It was a very strange feeling. Not long ago,
many people had been arrested for wearing T-shirts with such words. Now
they had become death pardoning slogans for many Taiwanese or Chinese
companies.
Away from the shouting crowd, we visited a Taiwanese company. The logo
board of the company had been vandalized; we could only make out words
something like “Seui Yang”. Three security personnel, two women and a
man, were sitting in a dazed shock at the rubble. They were frightened
upon seeing us arrive. The security man, around age 50, anxiously walked
out to see us, and even after having found out we were not from the
rioting crowd, still remained cautious.
“Uncle, are those rioters the factory workers?” I ask the old safeguard.
“No, not at all. It seems they might be hired professionals!” he
replied, anxious. “Do you think they live locally or are they from
elsewhere?” The guard was reluctant to answer. I turned to the female
safeguard, who was about 30, “Why didn’t you call the police to help?".
The girl fearfully responded, almost shouting: “What’s the point? They
won’t come to help, or else they would only arrive when people don't
need them anymore!”
When I looked in the direction of the door, a rowdy crowd was
approaching. The group at the front contained about 30 people, but the
following group was about over a hundred. All three security personnel
were terrified. One of the two security women phoned police, after a few
seconds she put down the phone and sighed heavily. The call had been
suddenly terminated.
The rioting crowd entered the company’s yard. I stood close to the wall
of the security office and looked out. These unusual youngsters, who did
not look like workers, looked unfamiliar and were armed with wooden or
metal sticks and flags. They flooded into the yard like an invading
army. Swearing, shouts, motorbike engine rumbles etc. transformed the
quiet yard into chaos.
Immediately I heard sounds of crashing objects. Someone behind me had
thrown a large rock at the glass door. I just managed to avoid it by
intuition, and heard the sounds of broken glass. I ran inside to record
the vandalism. Inside was an even worse scene. Everything had been
shattered to pieces. Broken glass was everywhere. Two young men rushed
into a room which might have once been an office, continuously opening
drawers to check if there was anything to filch. Each time they found
nothing worth taking, they would punch the drawer. I was surprised that
these people, that held the red flags outside, would pull down a red
flag found inside the room. Who were they?
The vandalism occurred in the reception area as if it were a festival.
The sounds of breaking and falling objects were all around. In front of
me was a young man wearing a safety helmet, holding a metal stick,
hitting everything within reach. He almost hit a woman who was crouching
to pick up a computer keyboard on the floor. Unexpectedly he turned to
me and stared at my camera. Knowing I was not safe, I quickly left the
place. “Where is this guy from?” he asked someone. I walked faster, to
my front a crowd was yelling, raising their batons, and waving their
flags.
“Tell the people outside to stop him!” I heard him say before I stepped
out to the yard. The walk through the yard to the gate could not have
felt longer, but I couldn’t have run at that moment.
I suddenly saw Thy and Van, leaving their motorbikes outside, to come
meet me. The message had reached the crowd outside. Seeing around 70- 80
people armed and waiting for me at the door with vicious glares, Thy
and Van had rushed inside to escort me out. It seemed to be too late. A
young man with bleached blonde hair, who did not resemble a worker,
looked and yelled at me with a Thanh Hoa accent: “Hey, that guy!”
From the noise of the crowd, I heard someone shouting: “He is Chinese,
kill him!” People cheered when he shouted so. I kept my features cold,
turned to the blond boy, and loudly answered so everyone could hear my
Vietnamese: “Is anything the matter?”
It seemed as if everything froze for a moment. A more brutal man asked
“You! What are you recording here for?” “To look!” I answered, and
stepped fast outside. I glanced at my friends who had begun turning and
starting the motorbikes. “Are you a journalist?” I also heard, “F***,
he’s a fake. Beat him!” I had to pretend to stay calm as I turned around
smiling, saying loudly “I’m not a damn journalist – shit no!” I had a
glimpse of the three petrified security personnel staring at me. I
didn’t know whether they were anxious for my situation or for their own.
I quickly got onto Thy’s bike. The bike hustled off. The crowd watched
us; luckily they were not wild enough to chase after us.
On the way back, Van said the crowd outside had been spreading the word
that I was Chinese (as I do have some Chinese features) and had to be
beaten to death. It was very lucky I can speak Vietnamese! About an hour
later, I heard some news in the industrial area My Xuan 2 near Ba Ria. A
Chinese man had been taken to a hospital emergency room after being
beaten in a riot. He did not have the time to explain whether he was a
tourist or a business’ owner here; the crowd had been too crazed to
listen to any explanations. I shivered and thought that if the crowd had
not listened to my explanation earlier, maybe I too would be lying in
an ambulance.
Part 2
Please keep the same title – Part 2 – as it is a continuation of the
same article. I thought at first, the subtitle of this second part must
be – “conspiracy suspected in Binh Duong, Long Binh riots”. From my
observation, I see that violence was plotted and directed by many
unidentified rioters.
Crowd gathering in front of a company, ready for action
All 3 of us were totally perspired when we finally escaped from those
furious rioters; the weather at the time was only about 37 degree-C.
Safe, I thought! From now on, we all need to wear facial mask.
From all of the streets, appeared larger and larger crowds. They
apparently wanted to explode, looking for anything to destroy and show
their power. We rode around, restating all seen facts: Van said “those
who appeared to be leaders in the riot, all had scooters with license
plate #36 -from Thanh Hoa province. I remembered a message from a
friend, a resident of Binh Duong, mentioning his own observation:
“residents of Binh Duong would not conduct such violence; the majority
of rioters had scooters with license plate #36 – from Thanh Hoa. So,
now, it was an observed fact. Those who had scooters with license plates
#36 were equipped with steel pipes, crowbars, and flags… as they had
very well planned.
We decided to swing by all guarded spots to take another look. There was
no resistance against the rioters. All the guard-posts around the
factories were completely destroyed; there were no guards at their
posts. Rioters in squads were riding their scooters or running across
the empty lots. We stopped in front of a factory entrance door. The
guards, employees of the factory were frightened and retreated inside
the factory. A guard, so frightened when seeing us, hastily ran away
from the room with all window glass broken (this factory was raided not
too long ago). The factory had pro-Viet Nam banners– as a pledge for
discrepancy.
We decided to join a different score of riots, threatening in front a
different factory. The company sign was already destroyed; from the
broken sign, I could only recognize the word “Viet Nam”. Suddenly,
someone yelled in Nghe An accent, “Let’s go beat them up”. Scores of
rioters on noisy scooters invaded the factory front yard. They drummed
on empty metal cans; the factory guard yielded to the back. He did not
even dare to glance at the riot leads, perhaps he was scared that
himself could be the beating target.
I quietly signaled Thy; we decided to tail a few furious rioters who
appeared to be leaders. They rode around the factory, looking for
anything to destroy or to burn. When they did not see anything, they
kicked over the big planters. I was the camera man, continuously
pointing my camera at these guys who were always ordering, yelling at
the hesitant rioters.
Unfortunately, one the guys leading the riot seemed to recognize us. He
had a facial mask on; a big red flag stucked in his back belt; he was
holding a long steel pipe. He stared at us, lowered the steel pipe to
drag it along the cemented yard making a long line of sparks as to warn
us. We sensed danger; Thy turned around and we disappeared across a
dense smoke from the broken fire extinguishers. That guy also turned
around to follow us, but he was stopped by the dense smoke; he angrily
beat the steel pipe against an aluminum ladder gazing to our back.
We passed by the front of the factory another time. The rioters were
already invading offices to ravage everything. A guy standing up on his
scooter with license plate #36 and with Thanh Hoa accent, was directing:
“clocks, glass message boards, break them all!” Then, we heard the
sound of breaking glass. We could confirm from our observation that
scores of rioters aimed at destruction of anything to mark their
passing. Following them were unorganized scavengers. Perhaps, scavenging
was not these latters’ intention, because many vehicles and containers,
properties of the factories were destroyed or burnt, not stolen.
“Ravaging everything” was a clear order; not many other Vietnamese
participants in the riots followed this order of violence.
Van waved to me when he turned away to leave, as he signaled to me that
the rioters who previously yelled “He is Chinese, kill him!” ” already
arrived. One mistake after the others; I had a yellow shirt on, standing
out to call for attention. Alarmed of danger, we quickly snicked out
the factory and left this riot site. They might not recognize us just
because they were completely pre-occupied in their own destructive rage,
I thought.
It was by 2PM. The 3 of us decided to go by other riots happening in
other industrial areas in Binh Long, Bien Hoa 2 … just to see how
ravaging it was. It might no longer be safe for us to stay; so we went
to Long Binh.
Approaching Long Binh, we already saw signs of the occurring riots:
flags and banners written with slogans were sold along the roads to the
city. Vehicles stopping by to pick up flags – are threats of occurrence.
There were less Taiwanese and Chinese companies in Long Binh; so
security of the factories here seemed better guarded. We saw appearance
of few police; but their presence was likely a display rather than
having a guard-duty because the rioters, with their flags and drums,
were roaming in and out this industrial area.
We made a tour around the industrial area and noticed that factories
already had their banners up, showing that they were non-chinese
properties. Some factories, even with their slogans “Viet Nam forever”
had their entrance already broken – a sign of the recent invasion of the
rioters. Only some Japanese companies were still open; all the others
were temporarily closed.
A crowd of rioters were heading towards the industrial area in Bien Hoa
2. We followed them. The streets to this industrial area were quiet
because it was not yet the end of the first shift; besides only a few
factories were open. Security here was not guaranteed. Two guys riding
on the same vehicle came from the opposite direction; the rider at the
back was holding a long steel water pipe, threatening. This vehicle
entered the gated area as they were riding on public highway; normally,
they would be stopped by the factory CSGT.
We noticed another vehicle with 2 guys in military uniform riding around
and around the industrial area. They were equipped with weapons. We
observed these 2 guys; their vehicle license plate showed that they were
not residents of Binh Duong province. They had a simple tactic, riding
around and around, approaching small crowds of vehicle, yelling,
ordering the others to follow. At the 4th or 5th round, they gathered
into dozens of rioters. Van explained to me that it was the “rolling
ball” tactic – like a small ball of snow rolling down a slope, it
gathered more and more snow, making itself a larger and larger ball. In
fact, after some 20 minutes, the crowd was over a hundred heads.
Judging that they already made a large enough flock, the 2 guys in
military uniform raised their steel pipes and yelled: “Chinese company!
Go! In!” The crowd pushed up toward the entrance. But the 2 guys leading
the riot realized that this factory was of a Thai ownership; they
reluctantly stopped and lead the crowd to somewhere else. I was riding
at the back of Thy’s scooter. Thy decided to speed up toward the 2
leading guys. We were at their side; one of the guys pointed his weapon
to us and yelled in his Thanh Hoa accent “This way”.
Gradually, we recognized that in the crowds, there were always those who
intentionally lead the riots for their own targets; and some other
participants who, undecided at first, perhaps lacked of self-discipline
and became excited to only follow orders. The riot leaders were always
in control of all acts of violence.
We left the crowd to take a short cut toward Bien Hoa 2. Across an
intersection, we saw 2 local police men on their scooters, weaponed with
batons– the first time we saw the policia after hours following the
rioters. Another vehicle arrived and parked next to our side. And a
crowd over a hundred rioters also arrived, waving their flags and
yelling. We were still watching for the policia’s reactions. One of them
turned around and quickly left; the other one also hastily left across
the intersection red light toward our direction. A guy parking at our
side exclaimed: “Huh, so the police did not stop these rioters?!!” The
other guy in sunglasses, looking older, spit out a swear: “F***, stop
who?!! Thy heard his swearing, had a small burst laugh.
The flock that just arrived to this site after us later invaded a Korean
company. The management of this company seemed to be prepared for the
attack. They had their employees carry out 5 or 6 water containers to
offer to the rioters. The rioters made noises, waved up their water
bottles as spoils of war before riding away. We felt sorry for this
Korean company – the management had to give way to this flock of
looters.
In fact, this flock was acting under a leader and his assistants. The
leader was from the North (of Viet Nam), wearing a military helmet and
sunglasses. They were all equipped with weaponry – long batons with
curved handle. They were the ones who pushed and furiously ordered
others to force through the entrance doors. At a Singapore company, the
factory guard was kowtowing with his 2 hands together: “There were no
Chinese here”, he said. The answer to this factory guard was the
forceful order: “Open or force through”. These unidentified riot leads
apparently acted loyally to their duty – pushing and forcing through the
factory entrance.
I also observed some few figures as security guards in civil clothes.
They watched, and made phone calls. What could be their real duty? I
couldn’t tell.
We followed another crowd of different rioters, passing by the Fujitsu –
a Japanese company; they spotted a Taiwanese company. Then the similar
plot was carried out. The leader just asked if the company was open, and
did not wait for any answer, he already ordered the crowd to break the
entrance with their crowbars. The guard was alarmed of danger and trying
to prevent any further damages, he invited the rioters in for an
inspection. One of the company’s employees, having gray hair, displayed a
reluctant smile invited: “Please come in, and you may see that there
are no Chinese here”. Their employees were in double lines to welcome
the rioters, clasping their hands as they were hosting their own
president’s visit. The leader of this crowd was a man – we couldn’t
identify who he was of course – but he was in worker’s uniform, yelling,
ordering the rioters to enter the factory. I had an uneasy feeling of
irony watching the impressions on the old employee’s face: he had a
reluctant smile; he spelled out invitations; he was hiding his disgusted
reflections; his hands clasping together might not really mean any
welcome.
Who were these riot leads in the crowds – we could not identify them;
and who were their assistants that obviously worked in the plot? Some of
the present participants were police in plainclothes; but what were
they watching? When I pointed my camera to these guys, a security turned
away to hide his face. Clearly, the government did not close their
eyes; they were watching; they had some tacted controls of these
happenings. The disappearance of the police squads – (CSCD) – did they
actually ignore the events or did they follow a tactful policy. The
police in Binh Duong province reported that over 150 riot participants
were arrested during the past 2 days because these rioters had invaded
the police offices. Following this report, it was understood that there
were organized plots and well-prepared tactics?!!
Many questions were not answered immediately. The important thing we
need at this time was – to be alarmed of all acts of excitement by “the
not yet identified stimulants”. We could not allow anyone to abuse our
patriotism and transform us into uninformed violent rioters. We need to
unify our patriotic sentiments into successful movements against our
enemies, those who kowtow to Chinese imperialism. In my personal
efforts, my friends and I could only submit in this article what we
together had observed, and questioned for everyone else to investigate
further. I hope that these truths as exposed and reported with our
patriotic love for our country would help in the fight for independence
of our people.
As of today, after riding over 100-kilometer course following the
rioters in Binh Duong province, I came back home, exhausted. But I
couldn’t sit down to relax; I had to write, to continue our own fight,
mine, my friends’ and my siblings’: our fight over the years tosearch
for truths.
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