Chinese laborers flock to Vietnam, live outside the law Mismanagement by local agencies is the only true explanation for the presence of thousands of illegal foreign workers in localities across Vietnam. A plethora of unlicensed workers   Foreign laborers can be seen everywhere on the streets of the Ky Anh District in the central province of Ha Tinh. They drink at restaurants, chat at cafes, hang out at street food shops and work on construction sites. According to Major Nguyen Hong Phong, Deputy Chief of the Ky Anh District Police, nearly 3600 foreigners from 25 countries and territories had arrived in the locality by March 15 as workers. These included 2200 mainland Chinese and over 1000 Taiwanese . The workers reside provisionally in 10 communes and towns of the district, including Ky Phong Commune (1,205), Ky Long (1,050) and Ky Lien (849). They stay in hotels, guest houses, and rented rooms. Sometimes, they can be found living on the construction sites, or even in old schools. Figures provided by the Deputy Head of the Ha Tinh Provincial Economic Zone Board of Management, Ngo Dinh Van, were somewhat different. In the Vung Ang Economic Zone alone, there were 3,730 foreign workers by March 15. Of these, only 1,560 have work permits. When asked why the total number of foreign workers is far higher than the number of licensed workers, Van said many of the workers went to Vietnam as travelers and stayed behind to work on construction sites. The others are in the process of obtaining work permits in accordance with the administrative procedures set forth in the newly released Decree No 102. Van, at a meeting with reporters, made the claim that there is no unskilled [foreign] worker in the Vung Ang Economic Zone. However, reporters of Lao Dong witnessed many [foreign] laborers working at simple jobs at the Formosa steel complex project, including ones installing scaffolding there. To date, authorities have expelled 25 unlicensed workers. Van argued that placing foreign workers under control is easier said than done. “It is very difficult to find workers without work permits. When we come to the construction sites for inspection tours, they hide,” he said. Who to blame? “It is the Foreign Affairs Department which has been assigned to inspect the projects which hire foreign workers, determine the exact numbers of licensed and unlicensed workers, and to tighten the control over them. Laborers without work permits will be expelled in accordance with the current laws,” Van said. “The management board’s responsibility is guiding the workers to fulfill the administrative procedures for work permits, regularly take inspection tours and request the contractors to provide the figures on their employees,” he said. Meanwhile, Le Tien Dung, Deputy Director of the Ha Tinh provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, affirmed that in 2007, the agency released the decision on authorizing the Vung Ang Economic Zone Management Board to grant work permits to workers. “The responsible government agencies only join forces to make inspections when necessary,” he said. Nguyen Mai, former Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, affirmed that the presence of foreign unskilled laborers in the country is illegal. The existence of illegal Chinese workers in Vietnam contravenes the nation’s policies as well as objectives in attracting foreign direct investment. Lao Dong