Taipei, May 21 (CNA) Foreign Minister David Lin on Wednesday night denied a media report that he has tendered his resignation at a time when the government is working hard to address the issue of Taiwanese businessmen affected by anti-China riots in Vietnam.
At a press conference, Lin described the Chinese-language Liberty Times report as "completely untrue."
"Our top priority now is to help the Taiwanese businesses seek compensation and ensure the protection of their rights," he told the local media.
In an online report, the Liberty Times said Lin had tendered his resignation in the face of great criticism of the ministry's response to the riots in Vietnam and its approach to helping affected Taiwanese businessmen seek compensation from the Vietnamese government.
The report came after a Taiwanese delegation led by Vice Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin arrived in Vietnam earlier in the day in an effort to assist Taiwanese businessmen in seeking compensation for losses caused by the recent riots in the Southeast Asian country.
The group is set to visit the areas hardest hit by the attacks, such as the Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, and will hold seminars with Taiwanese businessmen to learn more about their needs. The delegation is also scheduled to meet with Vietnamese authorities in Hanoi May 23.
A total of 224 Taiwanese companies have suffered damage as a result of the riots, with 18 factories set on fire, five of which were completely destroyed, according to statistics compiled by the Economics Ministry. About 1,100 Taiwanese enterprises have suspended operations, it said.
The anti-Chinese protests erupted in southern Vietnam May 13 over a Chinese oil-drilling venture in an area of the South China Sea that Hanoi insists is within its exclusive economic zone.
(By Tony Fang and Elaine Hou)
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