On July 28 Taiwanese media reported that Vietnam had allowed the display of the Taiwanese flag in one of its industrial zones.
Kaiser 1 Furniture Industry, a Taiwanese-owned company based in My Phuoc industrial park, in southern Vietnam's Binh Duong province, had allegedly received permission from local authorities to fly the flag of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) to distinguish itself from Chinese businesses.
After violent anti-China protests broke out in Vietnam in 2014, Taiwanese businesses were attacked by demonstrators, who mistook them for Chinese. In order to protect themselves in case of riots, Taiwanese firms requested to be allowed to fly their own flag. Last month Luo Tzu-wen, chairman of Kaiser Furniture, told Taiwanese media that he had been permitted to fly the Taiwanese flag.
At a press conference held on July 30 Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, objected to Vietnam's move. "There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of China," Geng said. "China resolutely opposes any form of 'Taiwan independence' and it has already lodged representations with Vietnam, enjoining it to correct its mistaken actions," he added.
On August 2 Vietnam's Foreign Ministry denied allowing Taiwanese businesses to fly the Taiwanese flag on its territory.
At a press conference Le Thi Thu Hang, a spokesperson for Vietnam's Foreign Ministry, said that Vietnam adheres to the 'one-China principle'. She said that Kaiser Furniture had acted on its own when it raised the Taiwanese flag, and that local authorities had already taken action according to the government's 'one-China principle'.
On Saturday Hong Kong-based HK01, citing BBC Vietnam, reported that on August 1 government officials of Bihn Duong province had instructed Kaiser Furniture to remove the Taiwanese flag.
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