(16 Dec 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of road to Chinese embassy closed to traffic
2. Security in front of embassy
3. Wide of demonstrators crossing street chanting "Vietnam"
4. Protest, UPSOUND (Vietnamese): "Spratly, Paracel, belong to Vietnam"
5. Man holding up poster
6. Low view of demonstrators holding Vietnamese flags walking and singing patriotic song
7. Demonstrators marching
8. Close-up of placard written in Chinese
9. Woman holding poster protesting
10. Protest
11. Girl sitting on back of motorbike holding poster as police officer walking toward
12. Protest, UPSOUND (Vietnamese): "Spratly, Paracel, belong to Vietnam"
13. Police officers stopping demonstrators
14. Various of Vietnamese SWAT stopping demonstrator
15. Police officer stopping people
16. SWAT officer holding seized posters and placards
STORYLINE
Several hundreds of Vietnamese gathered for a public protest on Sunday morning against China's latest effort to claim control of two disputed island chains in South China Sea.
Demonstrators, mostly university students, following last Sunday gathering in front of the Chinese embassy, marched through streets in central Hanoi chanting "Spratly, Paracel (islands) belong to Vietnam" and singing patriotic songs.
Their first attempt to protest in front of the Chinese Embassy failed as security guards had blocked traffic to the area since early morning.
The protest lasted for over three hours before the crowd was gradually separated by police and plain clothed security officers.
The protesters were supporting the government's position that Vietnam has sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands, a contentious issue between Vietnam and China which has lasted many years.
The largely uninhabited islands and surrounding waters are believed to have large oil and natural gas reserves.
They straddle busy sea lanes and are rich fishing grounds.
Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also claim sovereignty over all, or some of the Spratlys.
The demonstrators were protesting against the Chinese legislature's recent ratification of a plan to create a symbolic administrative region called Sansha to manage three archipelagos, including the Paracels and the Spratlys.
The students had publicised the demonstration ahead of time on the Internet via personal blog pages, and instant messenger applications as well as by mobile phone messages.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Tuesday the protest last Sunday has damaged the bilateral relations, and it had been China's consistent stance that it had sovereignty over the islands and the sea around them.
Demonstrations are extremely rare in Vietnam, where the Communist government exerts tight control over political expression.
When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, police allowed several hundred students to protest.
Vietnamese farmers have also held occasional protests in recent years, saying the government seized their land for development without compensating them fairly.
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