In the last 3 months, customs officers at Da Nang’s International Airport have found and seized several Chinese maps and travel guidebooks with incorrect maps of Viet Nam printed on them.  They were found whilst officers were handling the entry procedures for 3 Chinese passengers arriving in the city on their flights from China.  All the maps and travel guidebooks showed a map of Viet Nam without the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, which are integral parts of our national territory.

The Head of the Airport Customs Department, Mr Nguyen Thai Hoan, said that all seized publications were destroyed and fines were imposed on the Chinese violators.  In particular, a fine of 1.5 million VND was imposed on one female passenger for bringing in 2 maps with the illegal above-mentioned content, and fines of 4 million VND were issued to 2 other people for their 10 illegal travel guidebooks.

Chinese maps with the “nine-dash" or "nine-dotted” line

Mr Hoan expressed his concern about the sophistication and complications of Chinese visitors carrying illegal products.  He said that recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of Chinese air passengers arriving the city.  He remarked that 10 of the 15 international flights arriving in the city on average every day were from China, each of which carries about 100 Chinese passengers.  He emphasised the risk of a wide distribution of the illegal publications if entry procedures were not handled carefully.

The Chairman of the Hoang Sa Islands District People’s Committee, Mr Dang Cong Ngu, said that the above-mentioned Chinese visitors had brought cultural products with incorrect contents into the city, which seriously violates Viet Nam’s entry rules as well as its sovereignty.

Chairman Ngu stressed the need for local relevant agencies to take stronger measures to deal with similar cases because the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos are integral parts of Viet Nam.  He added that such incidents were unacceptable.