A 67-year-old woman in HCM City burned herself to death in front of Independence Palace on the morning of May 23 to protest China's aggressive actions in the East Sea.
On the afternoon of the same day, Le Truong Hai Hieu, Vice Chairman of District 1 People’s Committee, confirmed that the act of self-immolation was committed by Le Thi Tuyet Mai, from Binh Thanh Ward.
Hieu said that at 6am, Mai took a five-litre can of gasoline to the front of Independence Palace, on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Road, doused herself with fuel and set herself on fire.
“Immediately after learning of the incident, palace guards tried to put out the flames, but the woman was had already died," Hai said.
At the site, police found an empty five-litre gas can, a lighter and six handwritten banners protesting the Chinese oil rig, Haiyang Shiyou 981, illegally set up in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.
Mai's signs requested that China remove the oil rig from Vietnamese territorial waters and respect Vietnamese sea and island sovereignty. She also proclaimed her great admiration for the Vietnam Coast Guard and fishermen in disputed area, and called for solidarity in the face of Chinese incursions.
“The government and our international friends should give a helping hand to Vietnamese people in their efforts to protect Vietnam’s sovereignty on lands and waters,” she had written.
