The Gulf of Tonkin: Memories of Adventures
Introduction
The Gulf of Tonkin is the water at the border between China and Vietnam. It is located south of Guang-xi and west of Hainan Island. It was 400 nautical miles from Hong Kong. In the 1970s-1980s, shrimp trawlers from Aberdeen went to the Gulf of Tonkin to catch shrimps. They came across gun shots, angry seas and detention; and shared with us their life-and-death stories while catching shrimps for Hong Kong people.
1. Gunfire at night
Wow, you know what! They moved towards us and shot…bang…bang.
Fisherman’s Story: Sin Wai Lun (Male, b.1960, Shrimp Trawling, Pair Trawling)
2. Shot dead by Vietnamese soldiers
My father died when I was 15 years old. That year he was killed by gun shots from military fishing boats from Vietnam.
Fisherman’s Story: Chan Kwok Wah (Male, b.1963, Shrimp Trawling)
3. Steering for 24 hours
I did not share this job with others, because if we were in a wrong direction, we would never reach the port.
Fisherman’s Story: Leung To Kan (Male, b.1952, Shrimp Trawling, Pair Trawling)
4. Detention by fisheries police
I ran into the fisheries police and I was detained with my boat.
Fisherman’s Story: Leung Man Fai (Male, b.1954, Shrimp Trawling, Pair Trawling)