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Vietnamese woman dies in self-immolation protest against China Vietnamese woman dies in self-immolation protest against China
(about 1 hour later)
A Vietnamese woman has died after setting herself on fire in a protest against China, state media says. A Vietnamese woman has died after setting herself on fire in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in protest against China's deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi, state media reported.
The report on a website of Thanh Nien newspaper said the incident occurred in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City early on Friday in front of the former presidential palace. The 67-year-old woman self-immolated in front of the Reunification Palace around 6am (midnight BST) on Friday, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.
It quoted the senior government official Le Truong Hai Hieu as saying the woman, 67, had banners protesting against China's recent deployment of an oil rig off the Paracel Islands in waters also claimed by Vietnam. The paper quoted Le Truong Hai Hieu, a top city official, as saying that police had recovered a plastic container thought to contain fuel, a lighter and seven handwritten banners saying among other things: "Demand unity to smash the Chinese invasion plot" and "Support Vietnamese coastguards and fishermen."
The three-week standoff has raised fears of confrontation after Vietnam deployed ships in an effort to stop China's drilling operations. China's deployment of the rig on 1 May in the South China Sea triggered fury in Vietnam, which has been feuding with China for years over overlapping claims in the potentially oil- and gas-rich seas. Ships Hanoi sent to confront the rigs have been facing off against Chinese vessels protecting it.
The Vietnamese government has clamped down on street protests after they developed into anti-Chinese riots that left two dead and damaged factories. Street protests have also occurred, although Vietnam's authoritarian government clamped down on them after they turned into anti-Chinese riots that left three Chinese nationals dead and damaged scores of foreign-owned factories.
News of the self-immolation spread quickly on the internet. Thanh Nien ran a clip purportedly showing the incident and motorcyclists looking on. The paper said the woman came to the palace by taxi and set herself on fire before guards there could react.
Self-immolations in Vietnam are rare but have been occasionally reported over the years.
In 1963, a Buddhist monk set himself alight at a busy intersection in Saigon to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. An Associated Press photograph of him won a Pulitzer prize and remains a recognised image today.