As many as 200 people joined the event, co-organized by the Associations of Vietnamese people, Vietnamese Women and Vietnamese students in the Republic of Korea.
Mr Tran Hai Linh, Head of the Association of Vietnamese Communities in the Republic of Korea, said: “We, the community of Vietnamese people living, studying and working in the Republic of Korea as well as all Vietnamese around the world, especially those who love peace and justice, are here today to demonstrate our great solidarity, firmly opposing recent Chinese activities which violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over sea and islands”.
Photo: VNA
Mr Tran Hai Linh (middle) at the event
Photo: VNA
Photo: VNA
Photo: VNA
Reading Common Declaration (Photo: VNA)
Photo: VNA
Photo: VNA
Photo: VNA
Participants also sent a Common Declaration (Vietnamese, English, Korean and Chinese versions) of the Association of Vietnamese Communities in the Republic of Korea to the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Korea, requesting the Chinese administration to immediately stop illegal activities in the East Sea, strictly respect international laws and other related bilateral agreements between the two nations.
A wide range of participants, from intellectuals, students, laborers, to Korean-Vietnamese families and Korean people who love peace, had gathered in the two-hour long protest, displaying large banners proclaiming “Paracel islands and Spratly islands belong to Vietnam” and “China, stop militarization in the East Vietnam sea”.
Vietnamese flags and their red uniforms covered a corner of Seoul Central Post Office.
This is the second protest run by the Association of Vietnamese Communities in the Republic of Korea. Earlier, in May 2014, the Association led three protests in Seoul, Busan and Gwangju cities to protest China’s illegal deployment of a giant oil rig to Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea./.