Two Chinese people who have lived and worked in Vietnam have shown their support to Vietnam despite the tense situation between the two countries.
Hoang Quan, the former head of Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Province as well as former member of International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Hanoi, said, "I knew the situation was serious when I read about the speech of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at ASEAN Summit."
Hoang Quan
When the news about violent protests in Binh Duong and Ha Tinh appeared in both Vietnamese and Chinese media, Quan received many messages of concern from home. However, he understands the love of country that Vietnamese people hold, and that such violent protests could only have been provoked by extreme circumstances. As a Chinese national who has lived in Vietnam for many years, he sees his most important task as building bridges between the two countries.
When the Japan-China war occurred in 1937, Quan's family moved to Vietnam. After 1950 he returned and joined the Communist Party of China. Between 1954 and 1958, he came to Vietnam to work. Quan witnessed the ups and downs of relations between Vietnam and China his whole life, and wishes that Vietnamese and Chinese people can live and work in peace.
"I hope the leaders of the two countries will solve this problem for everyone's sake. We share a border. We'll both suffer without peace. That's why I agree that all disputes should be solved in accordance with international law. Rules will mean nothing if one country ignores them. Nobody will accept that, and violators would be condemned by the whole world," he said.
Cao Cam Quy, a teacher who taught Vietnamese students in China during the American War, is of a similar mindset. In 2009, Quy came to Vietnam to find his old students. He read up on Vietnamese history and appreciates the Vietnamese people's resistance against foreign invasion. On his blog, he called the 'nine-dashed line' ambition of Chinese government a baseless announcement. Some other Chinese have also expressed worries that China may become a lonely giant.
The phrase 'public diplomacy' is a running theme throughout Vietnamese history, and as the main cause for victory in American War. Even now, the phrase has not lost its value, and many people believe that it may be the key to solving current issues and preventing China from realising its expansionist ambitions.