Conversation with Admin of Chinese Forum on Spratly

I am recording the discussions I have with the admin of Nansha Islands Forum, Nick (http://www.nansha.org.cn/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=3). Here are some of the content. I will update this and other conversations

Nick:
时间: 2008-1-15 周二, 下午12:32 标题: Vietnamese pirates were beaten in South China Sea

Content in Chinese very long (please go to link above for actual article)

Me:
时间: 2008-1-16 周三, 上午12:24 标题: These are what China call "pirates" and "robbers"

This is an example of the Vietnamese "pirates" and "robbers" that Chinese navy is hunting down in the South China Sea. They are threatening Chinese sovereignty with their fierceness.

Tieu Van La Shot by Chinese navy boat in June 2007

And this is the fierce pirates' boat....very scary looking!

Nick:
时间: 2008-1-16 周三, 上午9:06 标题:

I am sorry for the people who lost their property or even their lives. But very often we are telling different stories. The pirates I talked about are the real pirates who have taken the fishing gains or even lives of the poor Chinese fishermen. Please read my post "Vietnamese pirates were beaten in South China Sea" in this forum. I acknowledge that common fishermen have been attached when they unintentionally approached, or were forced to approach, the garrisoned islets/reefs -- Chinese fishermen were attached by Vietnamese navy, and Vietnamese fishermen were attached by Chinese navy -- that is a tragedy. This is why we need to sit down to discuss how to avoid the tragedy and to solve the dispute peacefully and fairly. Frankly, I am quite frustrated by the quite a few vietnamese IDs who come here to merely mess up the forum by saying foul languages and spreading hatred and posting irrelevant stuff...(the recent vietnamese IDs made us a big headache include "yufeng **" series and "VN_Brave_Heart", apart from those containing insulting signatures such as "anti-beijing" and "chinese government=aggressor"-- did you guys ever see any Chinese IDs that are so offensive to you vietnamese?)

Me:
时间: 2008-1-16 周三, 下午12:25 标题: My sentiments

I'm sorry you have trouble with rude members who express their sentiments in not very mature ways. I personally think there are better ways to make one's feelings known than cursing. However, what I would like to share with you is that the frustration you are feeling because of these rude members is nothing compared to the frustration that many Vietnamese people feel about the situation occuring in the sea very close to their seashore. Increasingly, on a regular basis, Vietnamese people are greeted with the news that fishermen's boats have been shot at, or have been sunken by Chinese naval boats. Just yesterday, 15/1, another boat was sunken in the South China Sea where 9 people have gone missing.

I agree with you that both sides need to sit down and discuss things in an open and productive manner. But one thing that I have noticed is that the tendency every time China sinks a Vietnamese fishing boat or kills Vietnamese fishermen, the reason given is because they are pirates. The people whose names I mentioned [in other posts] were likewise identified as pirates and robbers by the Chinese government. But we go to see their house, their life, their village, and we see that they are no more than very poor people trying to make a livelihood from the sea. They are victims of the two countries who make overlapping claims, and one country has the ability to enforce those claims by force. They don't need to go far to be in disputed waters. But the one who has the upper hand right now is China in terms of military might. And that's why these fishermen end up being the victims.

The situation is simply that in the sea, there are not many pirates. But there are many ordinary fishermen. They venture into disputed waters to make a living. And the Chinese navy is there to stop them because it can. But the thing is those waters that they go into, for hundreds of years, Vietnamese fishermen have gone without trouble. And now, the situation has changed because a bigger, more powerful country comes and says this land is ours, this water is ours. You stay away.

That is why the Vietnamese members in this forum are angry and frustrated. And sometimes, anger and frustration cannot be controlled. I will not condone or defend bad manner. But I understand where these displays are coming from. You are a citizen of a big and powerful country.

Perhaps it is difficult for you to understand the feelings of people from a small and developing country. But if you are willing to open your mind and heart, as you seem to suggest that you are, and the Chinese government is willing to open its mind and heart as well, perhaps there can be a solution that satisfies everyone, and would not jeopardize the life of ordinary people.

To be continued....