Chinese workers return from Vietnam

More than 3500 Chinese workers evacuated from Vietnam arrived in Haikou, capital of Hainan province on Tuesday after around 20 hours aboard four ships.

After violent anti-China protests in Vietnam, the Chinese government sent the ships to bring home workers from a number of Chinese enterprises, including Metallurgical Corporation of China(MCC) and China Energy Group. The first group of 989 workers aboard Wuzhishan arrived at Haikou's Xiuying Port at around 9 a.m.

"Finally, we are home. Now I feel safe again," said Ma Changmin, who has been a construction worker in Vietnam for the past six years.

The chartered ships were part of an greater evacuation operation. Some 135 Chinese working in Ha Tinh Province were flown home on Sunday.

Protests against foreign companies in central and southern Vietnamese provinces turned violent last week. The MCC said Tuesday in a statement on its website that four of its workers were killed in the attacks, and more than 120 others were injured, including 23 in severe condition.

Anti-China looting and arson came after Vietnamese ships and personnel repeatedly harassed the normal operations of a Chinese oil company in waters only 17 nautical miles from China's Zhongjian Island, part of Xisha Islands, in the South China Sea.

RIOTOUS ASSEMBLY

Returning home, Chinese workers are still frightened by last week's nightmare.

"We were trapped in our company lodgings when the riot started. Hundreds of rioters were throwing steel, bricks and even fire bombs at our building," said Fan Songyong, an engineer.

"We collected some steel bars and fire extinguisher for protection, and barred the windows and doors to keep the rioters out," Fan said. "In such a state, we passed four sleepless days and nights."

Ma Changmin was working on an open construction site when around400 rioters appeared and began to throw stones at Ma and his workmates. "We returned to our project building. They chased us inside, and we had to lock the door and call the police. They were just about to break down the doors when the riot squad arrived," Ma said, adding that a dozen of his workmates were hurt during the clash.

Gao Yongbing said it was the worst time of his life. "We managed to repel the rioters three times, but they returned with even more brutal attacks. We had no way to get away but had to huddle together to let them beat us. One of us had his fingers cut off... We slept in the sand at night so that the mob wouldn't find us."