Vietnam’s chief envoy to Taiwan yesterday apologized on behalf of his government to Taiwanese businesses that suffered losses as a result of the anti-China protests in his country and said his government is considering offering tax cuts and other forms of compensation to those enterprises.
Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei Director Bui Trong Van expressed “deep regret and apologies” to the investors on behalf of Hanoi at a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.
He had previously offered a “personal” apology over the losses suffered by Taiwanese in his country, but was summoned yesterday by Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂), who asked that the Vietnamese government apologize, punish those responsible and compensate the affected investors.
Photo: CNA
Over the past few days, Vietnamese officials have been meeting with foreign investors to assess the losses and will take steps to compensate these businesses, Bui said.
Reducing or waiving land or business taxes could be one of the forms of compensation, which may also include offering the affected businesses concessional loans or debt relief on overdue loans, he said.
“The most important goal is to help companies resume normal production activities as soon as possible,” Bui said.
“It is in the interests of foreign-funded companies, the Vietnamese workers and the Vietnamese government and the country,” he said.
Lin said a deputy minister from the Ministry of Economic Affairs will lead a delegation to Vietnam this week with the aim of expediting the compensation arrangements.
“After our Ministry of Economic Affairs delegation arrives in Vietnam, we hope to gain a better understanding of and further study all compensation matters,” Lin said.
Anti-China protests erupted on Tuesday last week in Vietnam after China earlier this month deployed an oil rig near the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), an area claimed by both Beijing and Hanoi, as well as by Taiwan.
Many factories in industrial parks in Vietnam, including several run by Taiwanese companies, were either set alight or vandalized during the protests.
Early estimates show that 107 Taiwanese businesses were vandalized, with about 10 factories having to suspend operations because of the damage.
Meanwhile, in Hanoi at a press briefing on Saturday evening, Vietnamese government officials said that Hanoi is sympathetic toward Taiwanese and other foreign investors whose businesses have been affected by the anti-China rioting there and has promised to help them resume production.
Do Nhat Hoang, director of Vietnam’s Bureau for Management of Foreign Investment under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that the damage to Taiwanese and other foreign companies had occurred as a result of misunderstandings and provocation by “lawless individuals.”
Vietnamese authorities are sympathetic toward those investors and are taking appropriate measures to assist them in restarting production, he said in response to questions by officials of Taiwan’s representative office in Hanoi.
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
‘IRRATIONAL ACTS’: The defense ministry condemned the drills, during which China tested successors to missiles deployed during the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995 and 1996 China yesterday fired several Dongfeng ballistic missiles as it began four days of unprecedented military drills off Taiwan proper following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei the previous day. On Tuesday, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said Beijing would “take all necessary measures” in retaliation should Pelosi visit Taiwan during her Asia tour. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from 1:56pm to 4pm fired 11 Dongfeng missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan proper, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Taiwanese armed forces, using “forward warning and surveillance mechanisms,” monitored the missile tests
ANNEXATION PLANS: Remarks by the Chinese ambassador to France showed that Beijing seeks to normalize genocide, re-education and gulags, a US official said European and US officials condemned comments from Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye (盧沙野), after he on Wednesday said that Taiwanese would be “re-educated” after any annexation by China. In an interview on French television, Lu accused the Democratic Progressive Party of “extremist” propaganda and turning Taiwanese against “reunification” with China. “We will re-educate. I’m sure that the Taiwanese population will again become favorable of the reunification and will become patriots again,” Lu told BFM TV. The term “re-education” has been used to describe Chinese authorities’ treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defense Chairwoman
‘SIMULATED ATTACKS’: Ten warships each from China and Taiwan were maneuvering at close quarters in the Taiwan Strait, with some Chinese vessels crossing the median line Taiwan yesterday reiterated that it would not succumb to pressure from Beijing after China carried out its most provocative military drills in decades in retaliation for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last week. “We will never bow to pressure. We uphold freedom and democracy, and believe Taiwanese disapprove [of] China’s bullying actions with force and saber rattling at our door,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. China had “arrogantly” disrupted regional peace and stability, he said, calling on Beijing to not flex its military muscles. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has also called on the international community to “support