This handout image taken and received on November 25, 2021 from ZFM Radio shows parts of the Chinatown district on fire in Honiara on Solomon Islands, as rioters torched buildings in the capital in a second day of anti-government protests. Photo: VCG

Chinese nationals in the Solomon Islands have suffered great loss after the second day of local riots with their shops smashed, burned and looted and their personal safety in jeopardy.

The rioters looted various areas of the capital Honiara. The Chinatown area suffered the heaviest damage with most shops looted and burned, Tan Jingquan, secretary of the Solomon Islands Chinese Association, told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that  more than 100 shops owned by Chinese nationals have been ruined, and all are feeling anxious and afraid right now. 

No casualty of Chinese in the Solomon Islands has been reported as Thursday evening, Tan informed.

He said that there are around 3,000 Chinese citizens living and working in the Solomon Islands with 90 percent of them located in Honiara, noting that "as far as we know, at least 100 Chinese nationals in the Solomon Islands have expressed their wish to be evacuated." 

Some Chinese residents in the islands hired security guards and contacted the local police. However, rioters took the streets in great numbers and the situation went out of control. "They even burned local a police station and a school," said a shop owner surnamed Wang.

Wang, who was hiding on the hills, said that the incident has affected many Chinese nationals in the Solomon Islands. "I know some are considering leaving this place. They are tired of it," Wang said.

A local businessman surnamed Lin told the Global Times that the riots were aimed against the Solomon government but were actually elaborately planned and implemented by some politicians in the province of Malaita.

Some media reported that Malaita Island has been gaining support from the island of Taiwan, which is against the central government of the Solomon Islands. 

When asked if China is consulting with its citizens if they want to leave the country, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that "we support the government's efforts to end violence and chaos. We are confident that under Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's leadership, the government of Solomon Islands can restore social order and stability soon."

He also stressed the one-China principle as a basic norm governing international relations. "All attempts to disrupt the normal development of relations between China and Solomon Islands are just futile," Zhao said.

China and the Solomon Islands officially established diplomatic relations in September 2019, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. During the past two years, the two countries have strengthened their ties and cooperation on all fronts.