CHINA: Refugees of Rhetoric

Victims in a neighborly conflict

In the rhetorical battles that have raged between Peking and Hanoi since May, the principal casualties have been the Chinese residents of Viet Nam. Caught in a crossfire of conflicting national and political interests, 160,000 refugees have already made the trek across the Vietnamese border into China's Yunnan and Kwangsi provinces. The Viet Nam government has explained the exodus by charging that Peking's embassy in Hanoi had hired agents provocateurs to roil Viet Nam's 1.2 million Hoa (ethnic Chinese) and induce them to leave the country. Hanoi produced two such alleged...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!