Workers need to be restrained and calm, not letting bad guys take advantage.

On the afternoon of May 15, the Propaganda Department of the Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee held a press conference to provide information on the situation in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Le Thanh Long attended and spoke at the press conference.

Scene of the press conference on the afternoon of May 15. Photo: Tien Phong Newspaper

According to the report of the authorities, on the morning of May 14, about 40 people on motorbikes, using banners, marched to protest China's placement of the HD 981 drilling rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. Faced with that situation, the authorities of the province and Ky Anh district promptly arrived, propagandized, and mobilized the group to restrain themselves, stay calm, and have the right attitude to avoid being taken advantage of by bad guys.

However, at around 4:30 p.m. the same day, a scuffle broke out between Chinese and Vietnamese workers at the blast furnace construction site. At the main gate of Formosa, some people provoked by saying that a Vietnamese person had been beaten to death by the Chinese at the construction site; therefore, thousands of Vietnamese workers present gathered, some of them quarreled with the Chinese. At some locations, extremists burned down some temporary houses; some people stole materials and equipment at the construction site.

During the incident, 149 people were injured and 1 person died on the way to the emergency room. By midnight on May 14, the authorities had dispersed the gatherings, extinguished the fires, and stabilized the situation both inside and outside the Formosa project area. Currently, Ky Anh police have initiated a case and detained 76 people involved in causing disturbances, destroying property, stealing property, and intentionally causing injury.

At the press conference, representatives of functional agencies and leaders of Ky Anh district provided information and answered and clarified a number of details and contents that the press was interested in in order to have objective and timely reflection, contributing to orienting public opinion and stabilizing the situation.

Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Le Thanh Long said that the clash that occurred in Vung Ang Economic Zone on May 14 was an unfortunate incident. On behalf of the provincial leaders, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Le Thanh Long sent his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and the workers injured in the clash.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Le Thanh Long affirmed that immediately after the incident, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee and the entire political system took action to propagate and mobilize people and workers to restrain themselves and stay calm so that bad guys would not take advantage; mobilize functional forces to manage and protect the safety of experts, workers, and property at construction sites, workplaces, and residences; continue to take care of injured people, and arrange security at hospitals and medical facilities to ensure absolute safety.

“We respect the way people express their patriotism, but we cannot accept and must resolutely and strictly handle acts of violence, incitement, taking advantage to cause trouble, steal property….” - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Le Thanh Long emphasized.

According to Ha Tinh Newspaper