Trung Tâm Nghiên cứu Quan hệ Lao động

One day after the outbreaks of violence in Binh Duong and Ha Tinh, VietLabour published an article entitled ‘Do not blame on the workers’. At that time we affirmed that the violent outbreaks did not spring from labour relations but from the incitement of unknown forces which made use of workers’ patriotism. Some workers were dragged into the violence beyond their initial intentions. By now, it is pretty clear who benefitted most from the violent outbreaks, which also explains who stood behind the organisation of these incidents:

Formosa is Taiwanese not Chinese company. We love Vietnam! Please do not sabotage

1. The vast majority of those who sabotaged factories or hit the Chinese workers in Binh Duong and Ha Tinh were gangsters rather than factory workers. Why these gangsters did what they did despite the risks of being arrested and tried? The obvious answer is that they were promised generous compensation.
2. China has never been famous for protecting their citizens abroad. In the MH 370 accident, it was Malaysia and Australia who led the search of the airplane while Bejing remained mostly silent even though most of passengers were Chinese. It was surprising, therefore, when Beijing eagerly hired aircrafts to evacuate thousands of Chinese workers from Vung Ang just 2 days after the incidence. Why Beijing had to rush to evacuation when the situation has been calmed down and Vietnam government pledged protection to these workers? Obviously, the harsh evacuation is a good way to stir up the angry reaction of Chinese population against Vietnam, which will smooth the path for Beijing to step up their actions.
3. This was not the first time Bejing used such tactic. In 1978, the Chinese workers at Thang Long bridge construction site in Hanoi urged dogs to attack Vietnamese workers. A few Vietnamese workers fought back the dogs but the incidence was immediately blown up and resulted in many more serious cases later. The final consequence was the start of the 1979 war at Vietnam-China border.

As Beijing wanted, the incidence in Vietnam has stirred up angry reactions in Chinese social networks such as Weibo. Some demanded Beijing to take affirmitive actions like Russia against Ukraine. There is little to wonder if such reaction is a part of Beijing’s scheme. In this situation, it is crucial that the HR staff of enterprises in Vietnam encourage workers to remain calm and follow the authority’s guidance and refrain from being incited by the bad forces.