A THOUSAND people stormed a Taiwanese steel mill in Vietnam, authorities said today, killing one Chinese worker and injuring 141 others as the complex was set alight.

It was the first lethal incident in a wave of anti-China protests triggered by Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in the long-disputed South China Sea on May 1.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said peaceful protests over the last few days were “legitimate,” but that anyone involved in violence would be punished severely.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China was “greatly shocked and concerned.”

“We urge the Vietnamese government to assume responsibility, punish the perpetrators harshly and pay compensation,” Ms Hua said.

The riot followed an anti-China protest by workers at a complex operated by the Formosa Plastics Group.