Chinese Nationals Flee Solomon Islands By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer
Sat Apr 22, 3:15 PM ET
HONIARA, Solomon Islands - Nearly 90 Chinese refugees fled the troubled Solomon Islands on a Beijing chartered aircraft Saturday — the second group to quit the Pacific archipelago after a series of riots razed their homes and businesses.
Arsonists, looters and rioters inflicted tens of millions of dollars in damage on the capital Honiara's Chinatown district this week, sparked by rumors that either China or Taiwan had paid lawmakers to elect an unpopular new prime minister, Snyder Rini.
Rini served in a previous administration accused of corruption.
Gao Feng, a diplomat who traveled from China's embassy in nearby Papua New Guinea to help with the evacuation, said the Solomon Islands no longer were safe for ethnic Chinese.
"Most of these people are homeless, their livelihoods are finished so they have to go," he told The Associated Press as he helped 89 evacuees into trucks heading for the airport.
"People feel their lives are being threatened, too, even though half of them are citizens of Solomon Islands."
The Solomon Islands, like many other Pacific island countries, is caught in a tug of war for diplomatic influence between China and Taiwan, which split amid civil war a half-century ago.
The nation is one of a handful that officially recognizes Taiwan, but China is trying to lure it and Taiwan's other diplomatic allies away. Both sides accuse the other of spending lavishly to influence the outcome of the tussle.
Some experts have said the "dollar diplomacy" exercised by both China and Taiwan has destabilized the Pacific and exacerbated problems of corruption in the region.
Beijing and Taipei vehemently deny having any influence on Rini's election, but a widespread belief among many locals that both governments may have meddled has prompted a general anti-Asian backlash.
Over the past few days, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji have boosted police and troop numbers in Honiara to more than 1,050 to restore law and order.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer met with Rini on Saturday to discuss the ongoing tensions in the capital and encourage deep reforms.
Following those talks, Downer said the Solomon Islands must fight corruption.
"Economic reform is going to be central to the survival of the country," Downer told reporters. "There needs to be significant improvement. There is no doubt corruption has been a major problem in this country over a long period of time."
Rini responded by saying anyone with knowledge of corruption in government should present their evidence to the authorities.
"I'm not saying he (Downer) is wrong, but I say there should be evidence before we can say ... there is corruption," the prime minister said.
Meanwhile, Rini is encouraging members of the Chinese community — which controls much of the retail and business sector in Honiara — to stay, promising a share of the government's "meager resources" to help them recover their losses.
But as Rini spoke, dozens of refugees, many clutching bundles of personal possessions, rode through the capital on the back of open trucks, escorted by armed troops and police.
At the airport, dozens of Chinese mingled as they awaited their departure, some hugging bottles of water, others hugging neighbors who came to say farewell.
Some said they planned to leave for good; others said they planned to return when the crisis lessened.
But for some, like 69-year-old merchant and farmer Paul Yee, leaving was not an option.
"I have no place to escape (to)," he said. "I am a Solomon Islander."
