China land deal rankles Laos capital
VIENTIANE (Reuters) - In the eyes of Laos' Communist rulers, trading Vientiane's biggest wetland for a new sports stadium seemed like a good bargain.
But the handover of the That Luang marsh to a Chinese-led joint venture has been the talk of this sleepy capital, fuelling rumors and resentment of Beijing's growing influence over its impoverished, landlocked neighbor.
More surprisingly, the discontent has forced the Lao government, one of Asia's most secretive, to publicly explain the swap of a prime piece of land for a new sports complex that will host the Southeast Asian Games in 2009.
"Many people are angry with the government," said Lin, whose home sits near the marsh on the outskirts of the city of 460,000.
Rumors about a Chinese takeover of the 20 square km (7.7 square miles) wetland -- home to 20 species of fish, rice paddies and ringed by 17 villages -- began to swirl last September.
"We heard that 4,500 families would come from China. Many people were worried," he said of fears they would be evicted.
"My feeling is 'why do we have to give this land to China'? If we are not ready to host the SEA Games, why do we need it? The government just wants to improve its image".
Resource-hungry China is one of the biggest foreign investors in Laos, which dropped central planning for market reforms in 1986, more than a decade after the Pathet Lao seized power.
Beijing has poured money into rubber plantations, energy and infrastructure projects in remote corners of the mountainous nation of 5.8 million. An influx of newly-rich Chinese visitors has helped make tourism a key source of foreign exchange.
But rumors of a Chinatown rising from the marsh located near the Buddhist monument of That Luang, the country's national symbol, struck many residents as too close to home.
DON'T CALL IT CHINATOWN
In a bid to defuse the controversy, Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad held a rare news conference in February where he denied plans "to bring 50,000 Chinese families to live in the area", according the Lao news agency KPL.
He confirmed a Chinese-Lao joint venture was given a 50-year concession on 1,600 hectares (3,950 acres) of land in exchange for Beijing's financing and construction of the sports complex, which includes two indoor stadiums, swimming pools and tennis courts.
The joint venture, 95-percent held by the Chinese, could sell industrial and residential units to Lao and foreigners, but he insisted Chinese buyers would get no special privileges.
Privately, government officials have warned foreigners about the sensitivity of the marsh development. Continued...
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