Vietnam's anti-China riots prompt Taiwanese to think twice

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-28

A Taiwanese-owned factory plant was vandalized during
 rioting in Vietnam in May, though escaped being burned to the
 ground as happened in a number of cases. (File photo/
Chiu Tsung-hao)

Last month's anti-China protests in Vietnam have caused Taiwanese businesses who were considering relocating their factories from mainland China to the Southeast Asian country to take advantage of cheaper labor to think again, our sister paper Want Daily reported on June 26.

Rising production costs have pushed many Taiwanese entrepreneurs to start moving their mainland China operations to Southeastern Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. But last month's riots, which the Vietnamese government has considered to be legitimate protests which got out of hand has shown them a warning sign.

The unrest began on May 11, when local protesters objecting to a Chinese oil platform operating off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, controlled by China but also claimed by Vietnam, turned their anger on Chinese companies, factories and plants, including those owned by Taiwanese entrepreneurs, in many cases burning them to the ground.　

Some Taiwanese businesses have already done well from relocating production to Vietnam and the trend had been expected to continue. Pou Chen Group, the world's leading show manufacturer, for example, has been heavily reliant on its plants in Indonesia and Vietnam.