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Tag: Vietnam Briefing

  • Vietnam Briefing: 119 death sentences recorded in 2021

    Vietnam Briefing: 119 death sentences recorded in 2021

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Amnesty International report: Hundreds of people sentenced to death annually in Vietnam

    • In an annual report released on May 24 documenting the international judicial use of death penalty, Amnesty International noted that at least 119 death sentences were recorded in Vietnam last year, and that “a 30% increase was recorded between 1 October 2020 and 31 July 2021.”
    • The report said that there is no official record of the number of death penalties that have occurred  in Vietnam since the numbers are classified as a state secret. However, Amnesty’s calculation suggests that there were around 1,200 people under sentence of death at the end of 2021 in Vietnam. According to the report, Vietnam is the only country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that carried out executions in 2021.
    • Drug trafficking offenses accounted for the majority of death sentences in Vietnam. It was calculated that 93 of the 119 new death sentences in Vietnam were imposed for drug-related offenses.

    Former Vietnamese journalist’s health worsens in jail

    RFA:

    • Nguyen Tuong Thuy, a Vietnamese journalist jailed for writing articles that criticized Vietnam’s one-party communist government, is in failing health, according to RFA. The prison authorities also refused his family’s request to approve medical treatment for Thuy outside the facility.
    • Thuy, 72, is a former vice president of the Vietnam Independent Journalists Association (IJAVN). He is currently serving an 11-year sentence at the An Phuoc Detention Center in Vietnam’s Binh Duong Province on the charge of “distributing anti-state propaganda.”
    • The former journalist is now suffering from back pain, high blood pressure, scabies and inflammatory bowel disease, Thuy’s wife, Pham Thi Lan, told RFA in a recent interview.
    • Thuy’s harsh treatment behind bars may be due to his refusal to plead guilty to the charges filed against him, Lan said. She called on the international community to pressure Vietnam to allow him to receive medical care.

    Vietnamese delegation arrives in Geneva to advocate for human rights improvements in Vietnam

    • In preparation for the Martin Ennals Award (MEA) ceremony on June 2, a Vietnamese civil society delegation arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on an advocacy trip to push for the improvement of the human rights situation in Vietnam and the release of journalist Pham Doan Trang, one of the three MEA laureates this year.
    • Bui Thi Thien Can, Doan Trang’s mother, and a member of the delegation, will receive the award on behalf of her daughter. Other members of the delegation include Will Nguyen, a former political prisoner, and a pro-democracy advocate; and Tran Quynh-Vi, co-director of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV.)
    • In an email interview with RFA, Nguyen said one of the priorities of the delegation’s agenda is to pressure the Vietnamese authorities to “provide adequate and immediate healthcare services” for Pham Doan Trang as her health has significantly deteriorated while in detention.
    • Nguyen added that the delegation would also demand the international representatives at the award to pressure Hanoi to respect the human rights of its citizens and uphold Vietnam’s international commitments and its own Constitution in safeguarding fundamental freedoms.
    • The latest arrests and imprisonment of civil society leaders in Vietnam, including Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong, who are the executive board members of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)-VNGO, are also mentioned in the delegation’s working agenda with the international community, Nguyen said.

    Vietnamese activist arrested on “anti-state” charges

    • Truong Van Dung, a Vietnamese pro-democracy activist, was arrested at his home on May 21 on “anti-state” charges. Nghiem Thi Hop, his wife, told RFA in an interview that Dung was detained by plainclothes police around 7.30 am. The police later conducted a house search and confiscated some of Dung’s books, laptop computer and protest bandrolls, according to Hop.
    • According to State media, Dung was charged with “distributing anti-state propaganda,” a violation of Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code. The arrest warrant was approved by the Hanoi City People’s Procuracy, state media reported.
    • Dung, 64, is popularly known for his activism on the promotion of human rights and Vietnam’s maritime sovereignty issues. Dung also co-founded a civil association named “Hoi Bau Bi Tuong Than” (Mutual support among countrymen,) which was established to support political prisoners in Vietnam and their families.
    • Dung previously participated in several demonstrations protesting Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea and consequently became a target of police harassment and assault. In 2018, he was beaten unconscious by Hanoi police after attending a memorial ceremony for Vietnamese martyrs who died in the Gac Ma incident, according to the ceremony attendees.
    • The family of Truong Van Dung also encountered difficulty in sending him supplies in detention. Nghiem Thi Hop told RFA that when she came to the detention center on May 24 to deliver basic necessities to her husband, the authorities refused to receive her supplies and requested that she purchase those items at the facility-owned canteen.
    • Hop added that the authorities also refused to accept the books she sent to her husband since they claimed they could not “verify its content.”

    Activist Do Nam Trung transferred to a prison camp far from home

    • In an interview with RFA on May 26, Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet, fiancee of Vietnamese activist Do Nam Trung, said that Trung had been transferred from the Nam Dinh Prison to Thanh Hoa Province’s Prison Camp 5 on the same day. The new prison is located 200 kilometers away from his home.
    • Do Nam Trung was convicted of “distributing anti-state materials” in December last year and subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison. A court in Vietnam’s Nam Dinh Province upheld his conviction in an appeals trial on March 24.
    • The Vietnamese authorities have commonly transferred political prisoners to detention centers located far from their homes in order to limit family visitations and their contacts outside the prison.

    12 Hmong people jailed for attending a religious leader’s funeral

    • In an online update on May 24, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng announced that a court in Vietnam’s Tuyen Quang Province had given prison sentences to  12 Hmong people who had participated in the funeral of religious leader Duong Van Minh on December 12, 2021.
    • The Tuyen Quang authorities previously prosecuted a total of 15 people, charging them with “resisting officers in the performance of their duties” and “violating safety regulations in crowded places.”
    • According to Mieng’s update, after a three-day trial, from May 18-20, the court sentenced one person to four years in prison, four people to two years and six months in prison, and the other seven people to two years each in prison. They were charged with “resisting officers on public duty,” a violation of Article 330 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
    • The attorney added that a person could only be prosecuted using this law when they are proven to have inflicted death, injuries or financial damages to more than two people. However, none of the public officers were killed or injured during the funeral, he noted.
    • The trial date for another three Hmong practitioners, including Duong Van Tu, Ly Van Anh, and Duong Van Lanh, has not been announced, Mieng wrote.

    The Third Meeting of Vietnam’s 15th National Assembly begins on May 23

    • According to vice chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Office, Vu Minh Tuan, the third session of the country’s 15th National Assembly began on May 23 and is expected to last for 19 days. At a press conference in Hanoi on May 20, Tuan said that the Vietnamese legislators are expected to debate and approve five draft laws, three draft resolutions, and to examine six other bills.
    • More specifically, the National Assembly will consider and approve amendments to a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law, the Insurance Business Law, the Cinematography Law, the Emulation and Commendation Law, and the Mobile Police Law.
    • At the same time, the legislators will debate six bills, including the draft revisions of the Domestic Violation Prevention and Control Law, Medical Examination and Treatment Law, Implementation of Democracy at Grassroots Level Law, Inspection Law, Radio Frequency Law, and Petroleum Law.
    • Most importantly, the Vietnamese lawmakers also expressed their concerns over the draft revision of the Mobile Police Law and emphasized the need for the law to be more specific and strict regarding situations where mobile police forces are allowed to bring weapons and other special technical devices onto airplanes and ships. They noted that this law needs to be further reviewed to avoid an abuse of power by police officers.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Deadly confessions, the hidden abuse by Vietnam’s police

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ May 27

    “Torture as an interrogation technique is driven by the rat race in Vietnam’s police force where there is constant pressure to close cases quickly to get promoted, said Le Cong Dinh, a lawyer and human rights advocate who was jailed and then put under house arrest for critiquing Vietnam’s ruling one-party government. Instead of investigating the evidence, police force their understanding of the crime onto a suspect.”

    Biden must promote democracy among Asian nations — including Vietnam

    The Hill/ Lianchao Han, Bradley A. Thayer/ May 22

    “As the U.S. is tested in the Sino-American security competition, it needs allies that possess a shared vision. It needs a solid partnership that can be sustained in the face of China’s aggression. To meet the dangers posed by Beijing, the U.S.-ASEAN partnership must be based on similar values.

    It is critical, therefore, for the U.S. to realize that communist values and ideology are the definition of the VCP.  That makes Vietnam a potentially unreliable partner for the U.S. and its democratic allies in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. must promote democracy in Vietnam — and strengthen democracy in other ASEAN countries — to create the strongest coalition possible to resist China’s expansion and avoid the strategic ​​errors of the past.”

    It Takes Two to Tango: Vietnam-US Relations in the New Context

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Hong Kong Nguyen, Pham Muoi Nguyen/ May 23

    “Just as it has taken Vietnam and the United States decades to transform their relationship from foes to friends, it will take time for the two countries to build trust and deepen their current partnership. During this process, bilateral dialogues and engagements in different domains, including trade and investment, cultural, education and people-to-people exchanges, as well as defense and security cooperation activities, should be further strengthened and promoted.”

    Vietnam and Russia’s Political Alignment: More than Meets the Eye

    Fulcrum/ Hoang Thi Ha, Darren Cheong/ May 25

    “Vietnam and Russia advocate alternative approaches that challenge the West’s human rights discourse. Such approaches put emphasis on national and regional particularities versus the notion of universality of human rights; the right to development and the importance of social-economic development as a means to realize human rights; respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, and diversity of democratic systems in electoral processes; and equitable geographical distribution of membership in human rights treaty bodies. Unlike the divergence in the previous period, both countries have completely converged in voting against resolutions on human rights situations in countries such as Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Belarus, North Korea and Myanmar.”

    PM Chinh Goes to Washington: Equal Importance of Foreign and Domestic Goals

    Fulcrum/ Le Hong Hiep/ May 17

    “Boosting Vietnam’s economic performance within the next three years and strengthening his economic credentials will therefore be of critical significance for Chinh’s political prospects. Compared to foreign policy goals, economic outcomes from the U.S. visit and follow-up actions to implement them will be of equal, if not greater, significance for Chinh and his supporters. Vietnam’s economy is running into significant headwinds. If Chinh’s efforts in this regard are successful, he will burnish his political prospects — and also benefit the Vietnamese economy as a whole.”

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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine. 
  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnamese Lawyer Allegedly Assaulted By Police While Defending Client

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnamese Lawyer Allegedly Assaulted By Police While Defending Client

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine.

    Vietnamese attorney assaulted by police while defending their client

    • On May 17, attorney Le Hoang Tung from Everest Law Firm filed a complaint to the relevant authorities after he was reportedly beaten by an investigator during a meeting between the police officers and his client at the Crime Investigation Division of Ho Chi Minh City Police.
    • According to Tung and his colleague, attorney Nguyen Thi Hoai Thuong, Tung was punched, beaten and kicked by a police investigator named Tran Duc Minh after he complained about the investigator’s alleged violations of his client rights during the interrogation.
    • The attorneys wrote on their Facebook pages that their client, who is pregnant, showed potential signs of fetal distress after witnessing the incident and was hospitalized immediately. Meanwhile, Tung got a nosebleed and headache after being assaulted and was also admitted to the hospital afterwards. Photos posted on attorney Thuong’s Facebook account showed Tung with a bleeding nose and a shoe mark on his white shirt.
    • After the incident, the Vietnam Bar Federation (VBF), which protects the rights of lawyers, submitted a request to the director of Ho Chi Minh City Police and the People’s Procuracy Office to investigate the incident, RFA reports. The VBF also asked the local authorities to act against people who abuse attorneys or interfere with their  practice of law.
    • In a response on May 18, Ho Chi Minh City Police denied the accusations and announced that the investigator did not assault attorney Tung. Instead, the police explained that Tung had “tumbled” and injured himself on his way out of the interrogation room after “interfering with the investigator’s duty” and “causing disruptions” at the police station.
    • The Ho Chi Minh City Police added that “unverified information” shared by a number of Facebook accounts “had affected the image and reputation of the city’s public security forces.”
    • However, this was not the first time that Vietnamese attorneys were physically harassed by the public security forces. In November 2021, video footage showed that attorney Ngo Anh Tuan from the Hanoi Bar Association was pushed out of a police station by a security guard when he visited a detained client in Thanh Khuong Commune, Bac Ninh Province.

    Vietnamese blogger sent back to detention after spending three years in mental hospital

    • Le Anh Hung, a Vietnamese blogger who was subjected to forced mental health treatment since May 2019, had his treatment order suspended and was sent back to his former detention center on May 9, 2022, according to an update from attorney Nguyen Van Mieng.
    • Attorney Mieng wrote that Hung had been held in pretrial detention for three years and 10 months, with most of his detention period being spent in a mental hospital. In an interview with RFA, Tran Thi Niem, Hung’s mother, said that his official trial would now be held “within a few months.”
    • Le Anh Hung used to be a member of the online advocacy group Brotherhood of Democracy and he also reported for the U.S. government-funded Voice of America. He was arrested on July 5, 2018 under the allegation of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” in Article 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. If found guilty, Hung could face up to seven years in jail.
    • Nguyen Thuy Hanh, another Vietnamese activist known for her funding campaign to help the families of political prisoners in Vietnam, was also transferred to a State-run psychiatric facility at the end of April.
    • The Vietnamese authorities allege that Hanh was sent  to the mental hospital for treatment of her depression; her family expressed a concern that the police might forcibly hold Hanh in the facility and  not  bring her case to trial.

    Attorney allowed to meet three Vietnamese activists in prison

    • On May 17, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng was allowed to meet his three clients, blogger Le Anh Hung, journalist Pham Doan Trang, and lands rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong at the Hoa Lo Detention Center in Hanoi City, according to the lawyer’s Facebook posting.
    • Mieng wrote in his update about the health conditions and general mentality of the three activists. According to his update, blogger Le Anh Hung looked slimmer but his mentality remained percipient. Hung demanded the court release him unconditionally at his trial.
    • Journalist Pham Doan Trang suffers shortness of breath since she had not fully recovered from COVID-19. Trang added she refused to sign any documents or to compromise with the security forces in exchange for her freedom.
    • Activist Trinh Ba Phuong was not informed about his appeal trial, which was previously scheduled for May 19. However, the court later announced that the appeal trial for Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam, another land rights activist, had been postponed because of a “change in the working schedule.” The court has not yet announced an alternative hearing date.

    15 Hmong people prosecuted for attending a religious leader’s funeral

    • On December 12, 2021, around 50 Hmong religious practitioners were detained by Vietnamese police and others dressed in protective suits at the funeral of Duong Van Minh, Minha Hmong, was the founder of the religious group named after himself in Ngoi Sen Village in Vietnam’s northern Tuyen Quang Province.
    • The Tuyen Quang investigation agency later officially prosecuted 15 people and charged them with “resisting officers in the performance of their duties” and “violating safety regulations in crowded places.”
    • Many of the practitioners alleged that the Vietnamese authorities had used these prosecutions to suppress the freedom to practice religion of Hmong ethnic minorities. The Duong Van Minh religious group is not recognized by the authorities and has been branded a “false religion.”
    • According to attorney Nguyen Van Mieng, who previously registered to defend the arrested Hmong practitioners on March 7, all of the defendants allegedly co-wrote a letter refusing to hire a lawyer and declining to meet anyone while in detention. Mieng said that his request to meet the defendants to verify their refusal of representation was denied by the investigation agency.

    Rhade activist sentenced to 4 years in prison on “anti-State” charges

    • On May 20, a Vietnamese court in Dak Lak Province sentenced Y Wo Nie, a member of the Rhade ethic minority in the Central Highlands, to four years in prison on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code. It was reported that Nie had no defense lawyer for his trial.
    • According to state media, Nie had taken several online courses on religious beliefs, Vietnam’s civil laws, international law and writing  to produce reports regarding human rights violations. The indictment stated that Nie had “collected the distorted and false information” and “written three reports on human rights violations [in Vietnam]” to send to “reactionary figures abroad.”
    • Nie was arrested in September 2021 for allegedly storing materials that “defame, slander and humiliate the Party and the State’s reputation.” He was previously sentenced to nine years in prison for “sabotaging the national unity policy.”
    • The Vietnamese government has been accused of the suppression of the religious freedom of minority groups in the Central Highlands. The land of ethinic minorities has also been confiscated by local authorities, for which these groups have not been adequately compensated. Some ethnic  minorities have  been forced to flee Vietnam and acquire refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand to escape the Vietnamese government’s suppression and intimidation.

    Landowner of the Tinh That Bong Lai monastery arrested for “abusing democratic freedoms”

    • Cao Thi Cuc, the landowner of Tinh That Bong Lai, a local monastery and orphanage, was arrested on May 12 on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” in Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code, according to State media.
    • Tinh That Bong Lai is a Buddhist Monastery located in Vietnam’s southern Long An Province. Previously, the police conducted an investigation into this facility and arrested four of its monks, including head monk Le Tung Van. They were accused of “abusing democratic freedoms,” “committing fraud,” and “incest.”
    • Many independent observers have claimed that the Vietnamese authorities have deployed these trumped up charges to suppress any religious institutions that are not controlled by the State.

    Vietnam court jails ex-health official amid anti-graft drive

    Reuters:

    “A court in Vietnam on Thursday sentenced a former deputy health minister to four years in prison for his involvement in a trading ring for fake medicines.

    Truong Quoc Cuong, 59, who served as a deputy health minister since 2016, was accused late last year of helping local firms to import more than 148 billion dong ($6.4 million) worth of fake medicines to sell domestically, according to a Ministry of Public Security statement.

    The Vietnam authorities have stepped up an anti-graft drive with a recent series of arrests targeting prominent business people, market regulators and health officials.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    History Education and the Politics of Identity in a Globalizing Vietnam

    The Diplomat/ To Minh Son/ May 18

    “These effects of globalization on the Vietnamese youth have given rise to anxieties of national identity, typically among establishment scholars and elites. Complaints about students’ lack of historical knowledge have become a social trope in contemporary Vietnam. From 2005 to 2021, history was consistently one of the subjects in which students performed the worst in Vietnam’s highly competitive national high school exam. The youth’s lack of historical knowledge and basic historical facts have been widely and repeatedly reported in Vietnamese media since at least 2005.”

    Sizing-up the US-ASEAN Summit and Vietnam’s Place in the World

    The Diplomat/ Luke Hunt/ May 18

    “Carl Thayer, Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the summit and Vietnam, which is in an awkward position due to its reliance on Russian military hardware.

    He says efforts to maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific” have been complicated by the Southeast Asian nations and their desire to be seen at the center of the framework, despite their growing and at times intractable differences.”

    Hikvision sanctions signal uncharted waters from UK to Vietnam

    Al Jazeera/ Liam Gibson/ May 17

    “Vietnam, also accustomed to balancing a giant northern neighbor in China, is Hikvision’s biggest customer. With more than 670,000 Hikvision camera networks estimated to be installed in the country, according to Top10VPN, ditching the Chinese vendor will not happen overnight.

    “There are a few alternatives in the Vietnamese market, including domestic ones … but it will take time for the market to shift significantly,” Nguyen Khac Giang, a senior fellow at the Vietnam Institute of Economic and Policy Research in Hanoi, told Al Jazeera.”

    After renewables frenzy, Vietnam’s solar energy goes to waste

    Al Jazeera/ Lam Le/ May 18

    “After an unprecedented boom in renewable energy investment in recent years, the transmission lines that connect solar and wind projects to the national grid lack the capacity to deal with spikes in supply.

    Policymakers have not been able to keep up either, leaving regulatory gaps that prevent some investors from monetising the power they harness.”

    Early exit for Vietnam’s communist boss Trong?

    Asia Times/ David Hutt/ May 6

    “Trong, a committed ideologue who has significantly refashioned party politics during his 11-year reign, still doesn’t think his anti-corruption campaign is secure enough to be passed on to another leader, especially since Vuong, his trusted graft-buster, failed to win support to succeed him last year.

    Question marks were previously raised about Trong’s health, another reason why he might have found support for a third term last year, if others sensed he may not have physically been able to complete a full five-year term.”

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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine. 
  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Releases Political Dissident Ahead Of Prime Minister’s Visit To The United States

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Releases Political Dissident Ahead Of Prime Minister’s Visit To The United States

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Family of Vietnamese land rights activists petitions the international community for the release of their detained members

    • In a petition released on social media on April 30, family members of the detained land activists Can Thi Theu, Trinh Ba Phuong, and Trinh Ba Tu called on international human rights advocates and foreign embassies in Vietnam to pay attention to the detention of these activists and urge Hanoi to drop all charges against them.
    • Theu and her two sons, Tu and Phuong, are land rights activists in Duong Noi Commune, Hanoi City. In 2021, Theu and Tu were each sentenced to eight years in prison while Phuong was sentenced to 10 years for their alleged activities involving “making, storing, and distributing propaganda and documents against the State.” They became land and human rights activists after the local authorities seized their farmland in 2008 without paying just compensation.
    • Do Thi Thu, wife of Trinh Ba Phuong, who wrote the petition, said that although the Duong Noi farmers had peacefully and lawfully advocated for their legitimate rights to land usage over the years, the Vietnamese authorities had “repeatedly threatened, assaulted, detained, and imprisoned” them. Thu added that the arrests and detention of her family members violate international conventions on freedom of expression, which Vietnam has signed.
    • The petition also highlighted the abuses and mistreatment by correctional officers against the detained activists. According to the petition, Trinh Ba Phuong was reportedly beaten while in custody while Trinh Ba Tu suffered kidney failure due to being tortured in prison; Can Thi Theu was kept in pretrial detention with  HIV-infected prisoners.
    • Meanwhile, Trinh Ba Khiem, Theu’s husband, received a police summons on May 11 and May 12 because of his live-streaming on Facebook criticizing the Vietnamese government for the imprisonment of his wife and two sons. In an interview with RFA, Khiem said that the police threatened to arrest and prosecute him if he did not stop live-streaming his criticisms.
    • Khiem also visited Trinh Ba Tu on May 9 and Can Thi Theu on May 12 in prison. Tu said that his health remains in good condition despite being previously tortured while in custody; he added that the police illegally cracked his phone’s password and accessed his personal accounts without the lawyer’s presence.
    • Meanwhile, Can Thi Theu’s current imprisonment condition is much more preferable to her previous pretrial detention, according to Trinh Ba Khiem. Theu also said that she sent her gratitude to those who stood by her family’s activism over the past years.

    The 88 Project’s latest report: Vietnam stepped up arrests in 2021

    • In the latest report released on May 9, The 88 Project, a nonprofit organization advocating for the freedom of expression in Vietnam, highlighted the Vietnamese government’s increasing persecution and crackdown of media professionals and civil society leaders in Vietnam.
    • According to The 88 Project’s database, Hanoi arrested 12 media professionals in 2021, a significant increase from just three arrests in 2019. The organization noted that this trend represented the government’s “desperate attempt to stamp out fledgling efforts to promote press freedom in [Vietnam.]”
    • Another worrying issue is the Vietnamese government’s suppression of civil society with the detention and imprisonment of leaders of registered civil organizations. Civil society leaders such as Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong have been arrested and imprisoned on “tax evasion” charges. Earlier this year, environmental leader Nguy Thi Khanh was arrested under the same allegation.

    Vietnamese Prime Minister arrives in Washington D.C. for the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit

    • On May 11, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Washington D.C. to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, an event hosted to mark the 45th anniversary of the bilateral relationship between the United States and other ASEAN countries, state media reported. The event took place from May 12 to 13.
    • Chinh’s agenda during his official visit to Washington includes the promotion of U.S.-Vietnam cooperation in economic development, trade, national defense, healthcare, and energy. According to State media, the two countries are also expected to reaffirm their bilateral commitments to support “a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam,” according to State media.
    • During his speech at the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Pham Minh Chinh emphasized crucial elements such as sincerity, trust, and responsibility and their essential role in fostering healthy international relations. Chinh also promoted the need to strengthen international cooperation by “respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political institutions, and international law.”
    • However, Vietnam’s public commitment to uphold international law and the UN Charter stood in contrast to its failure to publicly condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Hanoi twice abstained from the United Nations’ resolution condemning the act of aggression and voted against the U.S.-led attempt to suspend Moscow’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council.
    • Meanwhile, Vietnam’s social media exploded last week after a diplomatic scandal happened before Prime Minister Chinh met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on May 13.
    • In a video live-streamed on the State Department’s Youtube channel, Chinh and other members of the Vietnamese delegation to the summit were heard making imprudent comments regarding the two countries’ relationship and diplomatic affairs. The video is no longer accessible on Youtube.
    • Many netizens have criticized the country’s leaders for their lack of courtesy while on diplomatic trips abroad. In November 2021, a video recording of Minister of Public Security To Lam’s luxurious meal in London at the restaurant of Nurset Gokce, popularly known as Salt Bae,  also attracted enormous public attention and widespread criticism.
    • The video was later deleted from Salt Bae’s personal account, but netizens in Vietnam downloaded it and republished it on social media.

    Human Rights Watch sends a letter to President Joe Biden to address human rights issues in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit

    • On May 6, Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW)  in an open letter called on U.S. President Joe Biden to “feature robust discussion” on human rights, democracy, and rule of law both among Southeast Asian countries and the United States in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit on May 12.
    • The letter also urged the Biden administration not to ignore problematic human rights violations in many ASEAN countries as it seeks to shore up alliances with members amid China’s growing influence in the region. The worsening situation and severe human rights abuses in Southeast Asia “threaten to corrode US efforts to strengthen ties” with the region’s nations.
    • HRW wrote that “Vietnam’s one-party authoritarian state has imprisoned more than 150 people for exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly.” The country’s penal code also “criminalizes criticism of the government,” the rights advocate added.
    • Hanoi on May 11 released Ho Duc Hoa, a Vietnamese journalist, and rights activist, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison, ahead of the special summit between the United States and ASEAN countries. Hoa was released after serving 11 years in jail, and he later boarded a plane to the United States with Tran Thi Thuy, another land rights activist who was sentenced to eight years in prison.
    • According to RFA, Vietnam has previously released high-profile political prisoners ahead of diplomatic meetings with U.S. leaders. During Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Vietnam in August 2021, Hanoi also released detained Vietnamese-Americans Angel Phan and James Han Nguyen. Phan and Nguyen were convicted of allegedly attempting to overthrow the State in 2018 and were both sentenced to 14 years in prison.

    Vietnam responds to the UN Commission on Human Rights’ mandate on the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association

    • On April 27, the permanent mission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the United Nations responded to the UN Special Rapporteurs’ mandates concerning the Vietnamese government’s restrictions on the freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
    • Previously, the Special Rapporteurs in an open letter expressed their “serious concerns” over a number of the Vietnamese government’s amended decrees and decisions. According to the rapporteurs, these updated legislations are allegedly used to restrict the activities and funding of national and international nonprofit organizations (NGOs) and further control public meetings and seminars in Vietnam.
    • In its response, Vietnam said that these regulations are used to “ensure transparent and effective operations” and do not “contain any provisions relating to restrictions on freedom of association and assembly.” “Vietnam always respects, protects, and ensures citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and access to information according to the 2013 Constitution and laws,” the letter stated.
    • However, the Vietnamese government’s latest suppression of registered NGOs and civil society leaders shows that Hanoi has zero-tolerance for anyone challenging its one-Party rule. According to The 88 Project, there are currently 206 activists in prison and another 334 at risk in Vietnam.

    Imagery shows China still building on Subi Reef in the South China Sea

    RFA:

    • “Recent satellite imagery shows that China continues to actively develop its facilities on the disputed Subi Reef in the South China Sea, two months after a top U.S. commander said Beijing had “fully militarized” the reef.
    • Simularity Inc., a U.S. geospatial intelligence company, said that an analysis of satellite imagery from May 5 revealed new structures and seven active construction sites on Subi, the coral reef occupied by China since 1988 but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Parsing the News About the Vietnam-Russia Joint Military Drills

    The Diplomat/ Hai Hong Nguyen/ May 12

    “However, Vietnam is also aware that any public sign of taking sides with Russia while the latter’s troops and tanks are still occupying Ukraine could expose it to consequences and cost it much-needed U.S. support in the South China Sea. Surely, Vietnamese diplomats would not be so naïve as to take this risk to Vietnam’s national interests at a time when the West is [closely] watching those countries who are continuing to do business with Russia at a time of increasing international tension.”

    US will have to work hard to win over Vietnam’s conservatives

    Nikkei Asia/ Dien Luong/ May 11

    “As public sentiments in Vietnam on the Ukraine crisis suggest, America’s much-touted role as a global security guarantor has yet again been thrown into question. At least, that is how the conservatives are portraying it. Still, suspicions of the U.S. agenda by Vietnamese hard-liners are not utterly groundless.

    Against this backdrop, the million-dollar question for champions of U.S.-Vietnam rapprochement is how to advance bilateral ties forward without ruffling conservative feathers, a treacherous line to straddle.”

    Why Vietnam Might Want to Reconsider its Russia Policy

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Derek Grossman/ May 11

    “Economic ties between Russia and Vietnam, however, are minimal. In 2020, for example, their two-way trade turnover was less than US$5 billion. For comparison, Vietnam’s combined trade with China and the United States during the same year reached US$153.4 billion and US$87.2 billion, respectively.[5] Russia’s accumulative investment in Vietnam also remains modest, at only US$944 million across 144 projects by the end of 2020.[6] A significant component of economic cooperation is joint energy extraction operations. For example, Vietsovpetro, a joint venture established in the 1980s between Russia’s Zarubezhneft and PetroVietnam, had by the late 2010s produced approximately 242.7 million tonnes of crude oil and 37.3 billion cubic meters of gas from the South China Sea.[7]”

    Vietnam Relations Are a Quiet U.S. Victory Already

    Foreign Policy/ Brian Eyler/ May 9

    “Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is making his first visit to the United States later this week for the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit. Since the mid-1990s, when U.S. President Bill Clinton and a cohort of bipartisan allies reestablished relations with Vietnam, the two countries have achieved remarkable things. Hanoi is now one of Washington’s top trading partners in the region, and the United States has invested billions of dollars in Agent Orange remediation and other remaining war legacy issues, showing how, with persistence and trust, former adversaries can turn into partners.”

    Viet Premier’s Delicate Pilgrimage to Washington

    Asia Sentinel/ David Brown/ May 6

    “Chinh and his colleagues must tread very carefully in Washington. Attention there is riveted on the Ukraine crisis. Many who are directing the proxy confrontation with Russia lack a nuanced appreciation of America’s Asia-Pacific interests. In support of Ukraine, Vietnam (though for its own good reasons) has been out of step with the rest of America’s friends, and that does not sit well with the Eurocentrists in the US foreign policy establishment.

    The Vietnamese prime minister’s very presence in Washington may prompt negative comment. Aggressive interlocutors may ask why the US shouldn’t sanction Hanoi’s purchases of Russian weapons systems and decry Hanoi’s failure to join UN votes condemning Putin’s war.”

    Vietnam’s Peacekeeping Contributions: Drivers and Prospects

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Phan Xuan Dung, Nguyen Cao Viet Hung/ April 29

    “In the coming years, boosting peacekeeping contributions will remain a major diplomatic and defense task for Vietnam. The Political Report of the 13th CPV National Congress in 2021 reaffirms the Party’s vision for national defense and foreign policy priorities, which emphasizes a peaceful external environment, protection of the Homeland from afar, enhanced defense diplomacy, and effective and proactive participation in multilateral organizations, including the UN.[30] It specifically notes that Vietnam should step up international cooperation and integration on defense and security, and contribute positively and effectively to UN PKO. President Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, has asked the VPA to study and participate in more peacekeeping fields, enlarge the number of peacekeepers, and explore more operating geographical areas.[31]”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Press Freedom Restrictions Highlighted In RSF’s Latest Report

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Press Freedom Restrictions Highlighted In RSF’s Latest Report

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Vietnam ranks 174th in Reporters Without Borders’ 2022 press freedom index

    • On May 3, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its annual ranking and evaluation of press freedom in 180 countries and territories around the world. Vietnam ranks 174th in RSF’s report this year, moving up one place from last year’s 175th position.
    • According to RSF’s evaluation, the press freedom ranking is based on the assessment of each country’s performance in five different indicators, including political, economic, legislative, social, and security. Vietnam ranks 173rd, 176th, 172nd, 170th, and 170th in each category, respectively.
    • In a press release following the publication of the World Press Freedom Index, RSF underscored how the increasing polarization of the media had fuelled divisions and created tensions within and between many countries at the international level. The press freedom advocate added that fake news, propaganda, and unregulated disinformation had created “disastrous effects” as well as “weakened” democracies around the world.
    • There are currently 41 journalists imprisoned in Vietnam, according to RSF’s index. They include the prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang, five members of the journalistic initiative Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper,) and three journalists of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN.)

    Vietnamese activist transferred to hospital for treatment of depression  as her mental health deteriorates

    • Nguyen Thuy Hanh, an activist popularly known for her founding of the 50K Fund, the monetary fund to assist the families of political prisoners in Vietnam, has been transferred to Central Mental Hospital No. 1 in Hanoi for depression treatment amid her worsening mental health condition, according to her husband Huynh Ngoc Chenh. Hanh was previously held in pretrial detention under investigation for “anti-State activities.”
    • According to Chenh, Hanh was reportedly transferred to the mental hospital at the end of April but he only learned about her situation after he was notified by the investigation authorities on May 6. The investigation police added that her pretrial detention term was temporarily suspended and the investigation process would resume as soon as she recovers from her illness.
    • Chenh also expressed concern on his Facebook that the Vietnamese authorities could use Hanh’s mental health conditions to forcibly make her stay in de facto police custody without having to bring her case to trial.
    • Previously, the Vietnamese activist and blogger Le Anh Hung was also forced to receive treatment in the Central Mental Hospital despite his family saying that he had no problems with his mental health. Hung has been held in the mental hospital since 2019 and his case has never been brought to trial. There were also reports that he was subjected to abuse and mistreatment during his treatment.
    • In the latest update on social media, Chenh said he was finally allowed to meet Nguyen Thuy Hanh on May 7 in the mental health facility after she was held incommunicado for 13 months. He wrote that Hanh got skinnier but still looked healthy and youthful.
    • Also according to Chenh, Hanh complained about the poor conditions of her place of detention; meanwhile, the depression medications prescribed for her personally, that Chenh sent to her every four months, were replaced by the detention center’s own medicines without notifying her or her family.

    Vietnamese Facebook user sentenced to eight years in prison for “distributing anti-State materials”

    • Vietnam’s State media on May 5 reported that a Vietnamese court in Tien Giang Province has sentenced Tran Hoang Huan, a local Facebook user, to eight years imprisonment and three years probation on charges of “making, storing, or distributing anti-State information and materials” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
    • Huan’s indictment states that in the period between September 2020 and April 2021, he regularly accessed webpages having “poisonous and reactionary” content as well as foreign news channels that had a “hostile and defiant” attitude towards the Vietnamese government.
    • Consequently, Huan used the information obtained from these channels to write and publish a total of 186 posts on his personal Facebook account in order to “distort, slander and defame the Party and State  leaders” as well as “attack and insult the regime and deny the revolutionary achievements.”
    • In 2020, Huan was fined 12,5 million dong by the Tien Giang provincial authorities for “providing false information which distorts and defames the dignity of individuals and organizations.” He had previously received police summonses in 2016 and 2017 under the same charges.

    Vietnam arrests high profile business leaders amid the government’s intensifying crackdowns on corruption

    • Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on April 29 issued an arrest warrant and conducted a house search for Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, a businesswoman and the director of Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC), for her alleged involvement in corruption related to the construction of a hospital in  Dong Nai Province.
    • It was reported that she had traveled to Japan on a business trip since February last year and still has not returned to Vietnam.
    • However, according to an exclusive report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on May 1, Nhan is also known for her role as a key middlewoman in promoting and facilitating Vietnam-Israel arms deals over the past decade. Haaretz wrote that the primary reason behind Nhan’s prosecution was to crack down on rampant corruption in arms purchases between Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense and Israel’s security exporters.
    • Russia has traditionally been one of Vietnam’s main arms suppliers. But Hanoi in recent years has sought to diversify and modernize its military weaponry amid Beijing’s intensifying aggression in the South China Sea, and most recently due to Western sanctions against Moscow as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
    • Hanoi’s latest crackdown on the country’s top business leaders, including the arrests of billionaire Trinh Van Quyet and property developer, Do Anh Dung, earlier this year, signaled the expansion of the Communist Party’s anti-corruption campaign against government bureaucrats, including high profile corporate leaders.
    • According to several analysts and entrepreneurs, the turmoil in Vietnam’s economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the government to tackle corruption in an effort to speed up economic recovery. The World Bank said in a report that problems such as declining incomes, job losses, and inequalities, among other things, are cautionary signs for the Vietnamese government as the country faces a much more challenging phase of COVID-19 ahead.

    Vietnam protests as China declares annual South China Sea fishing ban

    RFA:

    • Hanoi has recently spoken up against China’s announcement of a unilateral fishing moratorium in the South China Sea, which began on May 1, and covers the waters north of 12 degrees north latitude in the South China Sea. Both  Vietnam and the Philippines claim this area as their “traditional fishing grounds.”
    • According to the spokesperson for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry, Le Thi Thu Hang, Beijing’s imposed three-and-a-half-month fishing ban is “a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction.” The moratorium applies to part of the Gulf of Tonkin and the Paracel Islands, both claimed by  China and Vietnam.
    • “Vietnam requests China to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones when taking measures to conserve biological resources in the East Sea (South China Sea), without complicating peace, stability, and order in the East Sea,” Hang added.

    Vietnam and Japan agree to boost trade and security ties

    Reuters:

    • Japan and Vietnam agreed on Sunday to boost economic and security ties while calling for an end to the war in Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a Southeast Asia tour.
    • Chinh said the two “agreed to boost cooperation in post-pandemic trade, strengthen supply chains and energy transition, in accordance with mutual interests.” Japan is Vietnam’s largest provider of official development aid and third-largest source of foreign direct investment. Bilateral trade rose 8.4 percent last year to $42.9 billion, according to Vietnam’s customs data.
    • Kishida and Chinh said they discussed regional responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and disputes in the South China Sea, where China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing territorial claims. Chinh also announced Vietnam’s donation of $500,000 in humanitarian aid to Ukraine via international organizations.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Vietnam and the new Pacific Trade Triangle

    East Asia Forum/ Tran Van Tho/ May 6

    “This trade pattern resembles a new Pacific Trade Triangle comprised of China, South Korea, and the United States, with Vietnam as the focal point. The trade triangle of the 1980s featured industrializing Asian economies such as South Korea and Taiwan, who imported intermediate and capital goods from Japan and exported final consumer goods to the United States.

    This led to large trade deficits with the former and surpluses with the latter, resulting in a trade conflict with the United States. Newly industrializing economies in Asia solved this problem by substituting imports from Japan for upgrades in their own industrial structures.

    The current Pacific Trade Triangle in which Vietnam is enmeshed is riskier. On the one hand, the United States may impose protectionist measures on trading partners with which it has large deficits. On the other hand, over-reliance on imports from China may bring about instability when changes in Chinese domestic policy affect trade with neighboring countries.”

    The Russia-Ukraine War: Unpacking Online Pro-Russia Narratives in Vietnam

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Hoang Thi Ha, Dien Nguyen An Luong/ April 27

    “The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war following Moscow’s invasion on 24 February has sparked intense public debates on Vietnam’s social media. For Vietnam, the ramifications of the war are felt beyond the economic and diplomatic realms. It has become an online hotbed of conflicting and confounding narratives that demonstrate different worldviews and political leanings among Vietnamese netizens. Of note, those who support Russia and Putin have been as energized and engaged as those who are against the war and sympathetic towards Ukraine.”

    Vietnam unleashes the taxman on dissent

    Asia Times/ David Hutt/ May 4

    “Now ‘tax evasion’ is being added to the repressive mix. There is an ‘emerging and disturbing pattern in the use of Vietnam’s tax laws to criminalize environmental leaders, and follows the broader targeting of civil society leaders, as well as shrinking civil society space,’ said the International Federation for Human Rights and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights in a recent report.”

    Vietnam’s cable car craze is driving environmental decline

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ May 2

    “But the cable-car craze represents something bigger than the sum of the concrete pillars, steel, cables, and glass. The rapid development showcases how giant conglomerates are carving out space on Vietnam’s coasts and mountains for resorts and tourism complexes that some argue negatively impact the environment and have little benefit for local communities.

    Cable cars are often key features of these projects and enable thousands of people daily to visit some of the country’s most environmentally tenuous locales. Land is often cleared for construction and the high volume of tourists shuttled to now easily accessible destinations leads to waste buildup, putting pressure on the ecosystem.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Seeks EU’s Support In Strengthening National Cybersecurity Apparatus

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Seeks EU’s Support In Strengthening National Cybersecurity Apparatus

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source: The Vietnamese Magazine

    Day to remember: On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese government surrendered unconditionally as North Vietnam Army’s tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon and effortlessly occupied the city. The fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the 30-year struggle for control over Vietnam. It was followed by the new Communist authorities’ punishment and discrimination of the southern population, which later led to a mass exodus of nearly one million refugees fleeing Vietnam in the following decades.

    Vietnamese social media activist sentenced to 5 years in jail for “anti-State activities”

    • A Vietnamese court in Lam Dong Province on April 26 sentenced Dinh Van Hai, a social media and civil rights activist, to five years in prison and three years probation for allegedly “making, storing, and distributing propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” in accordance with Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • Hai, who is disabled, was first temporarily detained in 2017 after he participated in a peaceful rally in Ho Chi Minh City, protesting against the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwan-based Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp. on Vietnam’s central coast. Since 2019, he has received a few police summons because of his online activism.
    • Dinh Van Hai was arrested by plainclothes police at the Phuoc Buu Pagoda on October 7, 2021, where he had taken refuge for the previous several months. The activist was later transferred to Lam Dong Provincial Police for pretrial detention while awaiting investigation.
    • According to the indictment, the evidence used to prosecute Hai was mostly collected on his personal Facebook account, including a total of 13 videos and 79 posts that contain “false and fabricated information” which aims to “distort history, the economic, social and political situation, as well as the socialism building agenda [in Vietnam.]”
    • It was reported that Hai did not have a defense lawyer for his trial, but only a legal representative sponsored by Vietnam’s Disabled People’s Organization. An unnamed relative of Dinh Van Hai told RFA in an interview that Hai claimed to be responsible for all the materials he published online, but that his intention was to make Vietnam a better and more developed country.
    • The United Nations Special Rapporteurs last November sent a mandate to the Vietnamese government to raise concerns over the arrest, detention, and denial of family visits of social media activists and human rights defenders in the country, including Dinh Van Hai. The UN rapporteurs also demanded Vietnam provide a legal basis as well as the explanations for their alleged activities of suppressing the fundamental civil rights of citizens.

    Jailed citizen journalist allowed family visitation after an opaque appellate hearing

    • Vietnamese citizen journalist Le Trong Hung, who had his sentence of five years in prison and five years probation upheld in a secret trial, was allowed to see his wife for the first time since his arrest more than a year ago, RFA reports.
    • Hung was arrested in March 2021 on charges of “distributing anti-State materials” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code shortly after his self-nomination for Vietnam’s National Assembly elections. Hung was able to see his family on April 22, three days after an appeals court in Hanoi upheld his sentence in a hearing that neither his lawyers nor his family was informed about in advance, said Hung’s wife, Do Le Na.
    • “My husband said that on April 19, the trial day, he was kidnapped and sent to the court. He did not agree to stand the trial as he hadn’t had a chance to see his lawyers,” Na told RFA, adding that her 40-minute meeting was closely monitored.
    • “They repeatedly reminded me and my husband not to mention the appeal trial,” she said. “They warned that our talk over the phone would be stopped and we would be kicked out if we talked about the trial.”
    • “I myself will keep speaking up and reaching out to human rights organizations and civilized countries which pay attention to the human rights situation in Vietnam. I want to point out how my husband has been treated and expose all of the Vietnamese government’s wrongdoings,” Na said.

    Human Rights Watch urges the Japanese Prime Minister to raise human rights issues during the Southeast Asia trip

    • Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a press release on April 26 urged Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to Southeast Asia from late April to early May to put pressure on Southeast Asian governments, including Vietnam, to improve their human rights records.
    • Kishida is expected to travel to Vietnam during an extended visit to Southeast Asia, where he aims to coordinate regional responses to the Ukraine crisis as well as counter China’s rising assertiveness in the region, according to Reuters. The Japanese prime minister will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 30 to May 1 and will meet the country’s prime minister and president, according to state media.
    • The rights advocate noted that Japan is “Vietnam’s most important bilateral donor” and that Kishida should express concerns regarding the Vietnamese Communist Party’s suppression of fundamental civil rights, press Vietnam “to respect freedom of online expression,” and “publicly urge the Vietnamese government to release everyone imprisoned for exercising their rights.”
    • According to HRW, “at least 51 people in Vietnam were put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to many years in prison” between the period December 2020 and April 2022 for simply exercising their basic human rights, including the freedom of expression, association, and religion.
    • “Japan proudly claims its commitment to protecting human rights on the global stage, but in practice, it does little to press rights-abusing governments in Asia to improve their records,” said Kanae Doi, Japan’s director of HRW. “Prime Minister Kishida’s Southeast Asia trip is an important opportunity to break with Tokyo’s longstanding public silence on abuses abroad and instead assert global leadership on rights issues.”
    • Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights and the UN Environment Programme on April 22 expressed “grave concern” over Hanoi’s arrest and conviction of environmental human rights defenders on “tax evasion” charges.
    • “The use of income tax evasion charges to stifle critical voices is not a new practice in Vietnam. However, this time the charge of income tax evasion is being used against registered non-profit organizations whose work focuses on environmental protection,” said Cynthia Veliko, Southeast Asia Representative for the UN Human Rights Office in Bangkok.
    • On April 20, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and the International Federation for Human Rights also issued a joint urgent appeal for international intervention over the Vietnamese authorities’ alleged torture and ill-treatment of rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong. According to the appeal, Phuong was subjected to acts of torture throughout the investigation of his case. He was also reportedly hit by four security guards in sensitive areas of his body.

    Vietnam seeks EU’s assistance in building national cybersecurity protection

    • On April 28, Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security General To Lam met with Gunnar Wiegand, managing director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), in Hanoi as he was asking for further support from the EU in cyber security protection, state media reports.
    • According to the minister, Vietnam has received significant assistance and shared experience from the EU in the building of the country’s Cybersecurity Law and related decrees.
    • To Lam also suggested the EU continue to support and share its experience regarding cyber security with Hanoi, as well as introduce and transfer technologies and equipment for cyber security protection and high-tech criminal prevention.
    • Vietnam’s Cybersecurity Law, which became effective in January 2019, has worried the country’s dissidents, human rights activists, and the blogger community as they were afraid these laws have been utilized by the government to stifle critics.

    Vietnam’s National Assembly to hold its third session for the 2021-2026 term

    • According to General Secretary of Vietnam’s National Assembly Bui Cuong, the country’s legislative body will hold its third session for the 2021-2026 term from May 23 to June 17. According to state media, five bills and four resolutions will be discussed for approval in this session, while six other draft bills will be open for further discussions.
    • More specifically, the National Assembly will pass legislation and amendments related to the mobile police forces, insurance business, telecommunications and information industry, and intellectual property.
    • Vietnamese lawmakers are also expected to give their opinions and approve an additional four resolutions regarding vocational training programs for prison inmates, the legislative agenda for the next year, regulations of or National Assembly sessions, and specific development mechanisms for Khanh Hoa Province.
    • They will also examine reports on Vietnam’s socio-economic development and budget spending plans drafted in 2021, as well as monitor the implementation of those plans in the beginning months of 2022.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    How the Russia-Ukraine War Is Impacting Vietnam’s Economy

    The Diplomat/ Thoi Nguyen/ April 28

    “Vietnam’s agriculture is one of the sectors that has suffered most from the Ukraine conflict and has been forced to find new ways to survive. Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, stated that Vietnamese business owners trading with Russia are worried about collecting payments after Russia’s exclusion from the SWIFT system. For example, the Phuc Sinh Group, a Vietnamese export business that engages in around $10 million in trade with Russia each year, has said that it is losing considerable revenue due to the Western sanctions.”

    Is Vietnam Going to Hold a Military Exercise With Russia?

    The Diplomat/ Carl Thayer/ April 27

    “Vietnam has yet to confirm or deny officially that the planning meeting took place. On April 21, for example, at a press conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang responded to a direct question from Channel News Asia about the reported Russia-Vietnam military exercises, in these words, “Viet Nam’s consistent policy is that all of its defense cooperation with other countries – including delegation exchange, joint training, and military exercises, games and contests – are meant to bolster friendship, solidarity, mutual trust, and understanding, for the sake of peace, cooperation, and development in the region and in the world.”

    Asia’s democrats testing their term limits

    Asia Times/ David Hutt/ April 27

    “Between 1986, after the death of the political boss Le Duan, and 2021, no Vietnamese senior leader had ever held office for more than two terms, and not one ever seriously attempted to do so.

    But last year all that was overridden by Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, who secured himself an unprecedented third term as party boss. He also parlayed an exception for his age, 11 years over the limit, which should have seen him step down at last year’s National Congress.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Steps Up Crackdown On Internet Freedom With Proposed Social Media Regulations

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Steps Up Crackdown On Internet Freedom With Proposed Social Media Regulations

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Vietnam proposes new social media regulations to take down ‘illegal content:’ Reuters sources

    • Reuters on April 21 reported based on information from people with knowledge of the matter that Vietnam is planning to adopt new regulations requiring foreign social media companies to “take down content it deems illegal within 24 hours.”
    • The move is seen as another effort by the Vietnamese authorities to crackdown on internet freedom and tighten control over online discourse in a country where the government already shows little tolerance for dissenting opinions or criticisms of the regime.
    • According to Reuters, the planned amendments to current cyber laws will require foreign media platforms to take down “illegal content and services” within the 24-hour time frame while “illegal live streams” must be blocked within three hours of notice, and content that “harms national security” must be taken down immediately.
    • Reuters sources also said that these amendments currently remain confidential and are expected to be signed into law by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in May and become effective in July. Social media companies that fail to take down “illegal content” within the permitted time frame risk having their platforms blocked in Vietnam, the sources added.
    • Representatives from popular social media platforms in Vietnam, including Meta’s Facebook and Google-owned Youtube, declined to comment. Meanwhile, the Chinese-owned video sharing platform Tiktok told Reuters that it would comply with local laws “to ensure TikTok remains a safe space for creative expression,” adding that the company would “take down content that breaks platform guidelines.”
    • Vietnam, with a population of nearly 100 million, continues to rank among Facebook and Youtube’s top markets by user numbers and “is more profitable than many European markets,” according to Reuters sources. It is estimated that Facebook has up to 70 million users in Vietnam while Youtube has 60 million and TikTok has 20 million.
    • The new proposed regulations have raised concerns from human rights organizations that they could be used as a repressive tool to worsen the already restrictive internet environment in Vietnam.
    • “In Vietnam, social media, including Facebook, is one of the very few places for local people to express their opposition,” said Ming Yu Hah, deputy regional director of campaigns in East and Southeast Asia for Amnesty International, in the face of the threats posed by the proposed new laws.
    • “They face the risk of being imprisoned for years if their posts are deemed to violate the law,” she said, adding that such laws are “an existential threat to the freedom of expression in Vietnam.”

    Vietnamese court upholds citizen journalist Le Trong Hung’s sentencing in an opaque appeals trial

    • Do Le Na, wife of the currently jailed citizen journalist Le Trong Hung, wrote on her Facebook account on April 22 that a Hanoi Court had held an appeals trial for her husband on April 19 and consequently upheld his previous sentencing of five years in prison and five years probation.
    • Most notably, Na said that the court had neither informed her nor Hung’s lawyer about the appeals trial, adding that she only learned about the court results when she went to Hanoi Detention Center No. 1 on April 22 to send some necessities to her husband while asking for the procedures regarding his visitations.
    • Na said that there was a heavy plainclothes police presence guarding her and other local activists’ houses on the date of Le Trong Hung’s appeals hearing, but that she was unsure about their motive at the time. She added that she was “surprised” and “angry” about the Vietnamese authorities’ unlawful prevention of the Hung family from attending the hearing, even though the court previously announced that it would be an open trial.

    Vietnam court jails 12 people with links to a U.S.-based organization on subversion charges

    RFA:

    • RFA reported that a court in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on April 18 had sentenced 12 Vietnamese to prison on charges of supporting a U.S.-based exile group classified as a “terrorist organization” by Hanoi. The convicted people’s sentencing ranges from three to 13 years in prison while their defense attorneys said the trial was flawed and that it violated legal principles.
    • Prosecutors charged the group with “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government,” under Article 109 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, for recruiting others to join the foreign-based Provisional Government of Vietnam. Defendant Tran Thi Ngoc Xuan, who received a 13-year prison term, was described by prosecutors as the most active member of the alleged plot.
    • However, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng, who defended Xuan, told RFA in an interview that standards of fairness in the trial were violated and jeopardized, given the Ho Chi Minh City court’s decision to try different defendants gathered from separate parts of the country in the same trial.
    • “This trial violated legal procedures, as it gathered nine cases from different provinces and cities and then combined them in a single trial,” Mieng said. “These 12 people had no relationship or links with each other,” he added.
    • Based in Orange County, California, the Provisional Government of Vietnam was founded in 1991 by former soldiers and refugees loyal to the South Vietnamese government, which was in power prior to 1975. At least 18 Vietnamese have been jailed in recent years for their alleged involvement with the group.

    Vietnamese organizations urge UN members not to vote for Vietnam’s candidacy in Human Rights Council

    • On April 18, a group of eight Vietnamese organizations published an open letter calling for United Nations members to prevent Vietnam from joining the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.
    • They cited Hanoi’s opposition to the resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council on April 7 and its previous abstentions to condemn Moscow’s war-waged against Ukraine as the contributing reasons for their petition.
    • According to the letter, these organizations included Vietnam Human Rights Network (Mạng Lưới Nhân Quyền Việt Nam), Defend The Defenders (Tổ Chức Người Bảo Vệ Nhân Quyền), Assembly For Democracy Of Vietnam (Họp Mặt Dân Chủ), Humanistic Socialist Party (Đảng Nhân Bản Xã Hội), The Great Viet Party (Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng), Vietnam Democracy Federation (Lực Lượng Dân Tộc Cứu Nguy Tổ Quốc), The Independent Journalists Association of VietNam (Hội Nhà Báo Độc Lập Việt Nam), and Vietnam Democracy Radio (Đài phát thanh Đáp Lời Sông Núi).
    • The open letter also added that the systemic violations of human rights committed by the Vietnamese government and its pro-Kremlin stance consequently made Vietnam ineligible for a role in the Human Rights Council.
    • “Before seeking membership of the Council, the Vietnamese government must improve its human rights record, strictly enforce international human rights conventions on human rights, and contribute to the international community to build a peaceful and prosperous world,” the letter said.

    Vietnam expected to hold joint military training drills with Russia

    RFA:

    • Russian state media reported on April 19 that Russia and Vietnam, Moscow’s closest ally in Southeast Asia, are preparing to hold a joint military training exercise. They added that the initial planning meeting for the drills was held virtually between the leaders of Russia’s Eastern Military District and the Vietnamese army.
    • According to Russian state media, the two countries “agreed on the subject of the upcoming drills, specified the dates and venue for them” and “discussed issues of medical and logistic support, cultural and sports programs.” No other details were given.
    • The spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang confirmed on April 21 that  Vietnam’s mutual military training agenda with Russia, which is set to be named “Continental Alliance 2022,” during a press briefing and said that these activities were meant to “foster friendship and trust.”
    • Hang reiterated that Hanoi’s consistent policy of defense cooperation with other countries was only meant to “bolster friendship, solidarity, mutual trust, and understanding, for the sake of peace, cooperation and development in the region and in the world.”
    • RFA reported that Vietnamese media had remained silent on the meeting and had not reported on the proposed military exercise. Vietnamese officials were not available for comment.
    • “This is a totally inappropriate decision on Vietnam’s part,” said Carlyle Thayer, professor emeritus at the New South Wales University in Australia, and a veteran Vietnam watcher, in an interview with RFA.
    • “The U.S. is hosting a special summit with Southeast Asian leaders in May,” Thayer said. “How will the Vietnamese leader be able to look Biden in the eye given the U.S. clear stance on the Ukrainian war and the Russian invasion?” “This is not how you deal with the world’s superpower,” he added.
    • Meanwhile, Vietnam could be hit with US sanctions over its continuing military relations with Moscow under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed by the United States in 2017, writes David Hutt in The Asia Times. However, several experts noted that the chances Vietnam would get sanctioned under the CAATSA are low as the Biden administration could face a dilemma in pursuing contradictory objectives.

    Vietnam arrests former coast guard chief over “embezzlement” case

    Reuters:

    • “Vietnam’s Defense Ministry has detained a former commander of its coast guard on suspicion of embezzlement, the government said on Monday, in the latest arrest as the ruling Communist Party intensifies its long-running crackdown on graft.
    • Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Son was arrested last Wednesday along with six other senior coast guard officials for their involvement in an “embezzlement case,” the government said in a statement that did not elaborate on the alleged offense.
    • The state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper cited the Defense Ministry as saying that Son was responsible for violations committed by the coast guard between 2015 and 2020, including “financial mismanagement” and “procurement irregularities.”

    U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper calls for the upgrading of the Vietnam-United States relationship

    • During a press conference in Hanoi on April 20, U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper said that the United States and Vietnam have deepened mutual cooperation on multiple strategic issues and that it is time for the two countries to upgrade their bilateral relationship from comprehensive to a strategic level.
    • “Upgrading the relationship with Vietnam to strategic partnership is a priority, not just for myself but the U.S. government,” Knapper said when he was asked by the local news agency VnExpress about what he sees as the priorities during his incumbency.
    • Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the U.S.-ASEAN summit in Washington D.C. from May 12 to 13 at the invitation of President Joe Biden, according to the confirmation from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry.
    • Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that Vietnam “stands ready to work with the Biden administration on further strengthening and deepening bilateral relations” with an aim to promote regional and international “peace, stability, cooperation, and development.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Corruption is the Worst Enemy of the Vietnamese Army

    Fulcrum/ Le Hong Hiep/ April 22

    “The Vietnamese military is involved in a wide range of commercial activities, facilitated by its dominant role in Vietnamese politics. This sometimes causes civilian authorities to defer to military officials’ requests, including for resources and preferential treatments, which creates opportunities for corruption to thrive. The existence of military-owned businesses, both genuine ones and front companies set up to support intelligence gathering and operational purposes, also makes rent-seeking activities by corrupt individuals difficult to detect due to the blurred distinction between commercial and defence-related activities.”

    How Does Inviting Autocrats to the White House Make Asia More Free?

    The Diplomat/ John Sifton/ April 22

    “The Biden administration needs to adopt more coherent principles for supporting nations in Asia without sacrificing the promotion of human rights. A key problem in the Biden administration’s Asia rhetoric is that it too often conflates human freedoms and rights with the “freedoms” and “rights” of governments not to be coerced by other governments (i.e., by the Chinese government). When Blinken in December cited a “rules-based order” in Asia meant to “protect the right of all countries to choose their own path, free from coercion, free from intimidation,” he was not talking about human freedoms. He was dressing up “countering the Chinese government” in the language of liberty.”

    US-Vietnam Partnership Goes Beyond Strategic Competition with China

    U.S. Institute of Peace/ Nguyễn Khắc Giang/ April 19

    “U.S. rapprochement with Vietnam is more than a way to “contain” China (as if this could be done). A long-term, stable friendship should not be based solely on mutual concern about a rising regional hegemon. Washington should not only focus on economic and security partnerships but needs to support Vietnam in areas that it is lagging behind, particularly institutional reforms and the increased repression of civil society. A more democratic and open Vietnam will not only be good for the Vietnamese but a more trusted regional partner. A friendship based on shared values is much more sustainable than the one based purely on security and economic interests.”

    Nuclear moves up the list of Vietnam’s power mix

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ April 18

    “The potential scarcity of electricity comes amid discussion around what will be included in Vietnam’s eighth national power development plan, or PDP8.

    Some see a turn towards nuclear energy as a long-term solution for Vietnam to meet its energy needs while reducing fossil fuels. However, building nuclear power plants in Vietnam would be an expensive and time-consuming process and public support for nuclear energy is low in the country.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Human Rights Abuses Highlighted In U.S. Department Of State Report

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Human Rights Abuses Highlighted In U.S. Department Of State Report

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    State Department released 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights, detailing Vietnam’s human rights abuses

    • The U.S. Department of State released the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights practice on April 12, which aimed at covering the international implementation of “individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.”
    • In the Vietnam section, the State Department report described the country as “an authoritarian state ruled by a single party” where there were no fair elections, limited competition among Communist Party-vetted candidates in the National Assembly, as well as notable abuses committed by members of the public security forces.
    • Other issues, include the questionable independence of Vietnam’s judiciary, serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, serious interference with citizens’ freedom of movement and peaceful assembly, government corruption, and hindrances to workers’ freedom of association, among other things, are all mentioned in the report.
    • The State Department’s evaluation of Vietnam’s performance also highlighted allegedly unlawful killings by the government, harassment, intimidation, and torture of political activists and their families in police custody, in addition to arbitrary arrests and detention and the denial of a fair public trial, especially in cases regarded as endangering “national security.”
    • Meanwhile, anyone who criticizes Vietnam’s human rights performance usually becomes a target of online harassment from supporters of the government and its funded cyber trolls, commonly known as the 47 Force.
    • Enes Kanter Freedom, a professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics and who is famously known for his pro-democracy activism, has been targeted by pro-government trolls and internet users from Vietnam after he shared on social media photos of hand-painted shoes with messages advocating human rights in Vietnam.
    • In his media post, Freedom underscored the country’s incarceration of human rights defenders and journalists, as well as its lack of freedom of expression, speech, and the press.
    • The athlete also asked his fan base to “stand up for human rights” in Vietnam while condemning the Vietnamese Communist Party and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, for their suppression of the fundamental freedoms of Vietnamese citizens.

    Vietnamese poet accuses her former colleague of sexual assault, igniting a potential #MeToo movement in Vietnam

    • Vietnam’s social media has been stirred up the past few weeks after Phan Thi Thanh Thuy, a renowned Vietnamese poet, also known by her pen name Da Thao Phuong, accused her former colleague at Vietnam’s Literature and Arts Magazine, of sexually harassing her when she was working at the publishing house 22 years ago. Thuy made the accusation on April 6 in a Facebook posting.
    • Phuong’s social media post has attracted massive public attention in Vietnam, gathering more than 64,000 interactions as of April 17.
    • According to the poet’s accusation, her colleague, Luong Ngoc An, who is currently the magazine’s deputy editor, allegedly sexually assaulted her when she was working alone at the publisher’s bureau on April 14, 2000.
    • Phuong added that the now deputy editor had previously attempted to “manipulate, control, abuse and rape” her during the period between July 1999 and April 2000.
    • The female poet disclosed that she suffered serious mental breakdowns following the incident and she said the reason she chose to speak up now was to “change the current situation” and to assure that no one would have to go through what she has experienced. She also said that the victims of sexual harassment in Vietnam are still being stigmatized for the crimes they did not commit and that this shocked her.
    • Speaking from a legal perspective, Vietnamese attorney Ngo Anh Tuan argued that it was “almost impossible” to sue the alleged perpetrator as the duration for filing a lawsuit for rape cases in Vietnam is 20 years.
    • Da Thao Phuong’s allegations may have sparked a #MeToo movement in Vietnam, although it remains small. On April 13, 2022, Bui Mai Hanh, a Vietnamese writer living in Australia, also publicly accused Luong Ngoc An of attempting to rape her 25 years ago.
    • In an interview with the local newspaper Vietnamnet, An said he had filed a report to the police for libel because he was “defamed” by Da Thao Phuong. An said that this was a “necessary” response to the ongoing scandal. He later reportedly resigned as deputy editor at Vietnam’s Literature and Arts Magazine to take up a new position starting May 1, according to a statement by the magazine.

    Former police officer receives another charge of “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy”

    • Le Chi Thanh, a former policeman, and correctional officer received another charge on April 12 for allegedly “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to violate the state’s interests, legitimate rights, and interests of organizations and individuals,” which is a violation of Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • According to his indictment, Thanh used his Facebook account to “publish videos and posts that distort and infringe on the rights of the State and individuals” when he accused several correctional supervisors at the detention centers where he worked of corruption.
    • Previously, Thanh was convicted of “resisting officers on official duty” on January 14 and sentenced to two years in jail for opposing the confiscation of his car by the Ho Chi Minh City Police on March 2, 2021. The police said that he was pulled over for driving in the wrong lane but Thanh argued that their actions were politically motivated.
    • The Ho Chi Minh City High Court on April 13 upheld the two-year sentence after Thanh appealed the court’s verdict in January.
    • Meanwhile, citizen journalist Le Van Dung, also known as Le Dung Vova, had filed an appeal against the court’s decision after he was sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation on March 23 for “distributing anti-state materials,” according to his family.
    • Le Dung Vova’s family told RFA Vietnamese in an interview that they still had not been allowed to call or visit Dung in prison since his first instance trial. Bui Thi Hue, Dung’s wife, previously said that she was also not allowed to attend her husband’s trial last month.

    Thai authorities release Vietnamese refugees after detaining them for “not having a passport”

    • Thai authorities on April 8 detained Vietnamese political dissident Chu Manh Son, along with four other Vietnamese refugees, when he went to the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok to request a police report for an immigration application to relocate to Canada with his family members, RFA reports.
    • Son was arrested in 2011 and later sentenced to 30 months in prison for “conducting propaganda against the state” after he campaigned and participated in several anti-China rallies in Vietnam.
    • Son and his family members, who were later granted U.N. refugee status, were forced to flee to Thailand in 2017 after he was arrested again in 2016 for protesting the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh, Ltd.’s environmental pollution scandal in central Vietnam. These Vietnamese refugees faced possible deportation after they were charged with illegally residing in Thailand a day after being arrested.
    • On April 13, Chu Manh Son told RFA that he and another political refugee, Nguyen Van Them, were released on bail with the help of their lawyers and UN representatives. But Them’s wife, Nguyen Thi Luyen, and their two children were still being held in a Thai immigration detention facility because they had tested positive for COVID-19.

    Vietnam arrests deputy foreign minister in bribery case

    Reuters:

    • Vietnamese police on April 14 arrested To Anh Dung, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, on allegations of bribery, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
    • Dung, 58, is accused of taking bribes; police have searched his house, the ministry said in a statement.
    • Dung’s arrest is part of a wider investigation into foreign ministry officials who have been accused of taking bribes from Vietnamese citizens abroad who wanted to return to the country on “rescue flights” during the COVID-19 pandemic when commercial flights were not available, according to state media.
    • The police on Thursday also arrested an official of the Health Ministry and an official of the Ministry of Public Security for involvement in the same case. Four foreign ministry officials were arrested earlier in January.

    Vietnamese girl’s 1940 birth certificate could support Paracels sovereignty claim

    RFA:

    • New evidence has emerged that may help support Vietnam’s claims over the Paracel islands in the South China Sea, currently occupied by China.
    • A copy of a birth certificate issued in June 1940 claims that Mai Kim Quy, a girl, was born at 3 p.m. on Dec. 9, 1939, on Pattle Island to Mai Xuan Tap, a Vietnamese meteorologist, and his wife, Nguyen Thi Thang.
    • The birth certificate was witnessed by Nguyen Tang Chuan, a medical doctor, and Do Duc Mui, head of the local radio communication station.
    • This indicates that French Indochina, of which Vietnam was a part at the time, had administrative control of the island and that Vietnamese people worked there. That could be significant evidence of Vietnam’s claim to disputed features in the South China Sea and may show that Vietnam was the first to have an official presence there.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Agent Orange in Vietnam: Legality and US Insensitivity

    The Diplomat/ Phan Xuan Dung/ April 14

    “Negative reactions to the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook post show that the U.S. insensitivity to the Agent Orange issue could undercut the Vietnamese people’s generally favorable opinion of the country, in the context of rising concerns about China. Regardless of the legality of Agent Orange, given the controversies surrounding the herbicide, the United States would be best placed to avoid insinuating that it is not guilty of chemical weapons use.”

    Cambodia-Vietnam Relations: Key Issues and the Way Forward

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Kimkong Heng/ April 12

    “Bilateral relations between Cambodia and Vietnam can be considered a love-hate relationship. As immediate neighbours with a long history of engagement, collaboration, and hostility, the two countries have been both friends and enemies. Following the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, weakened Cambodia was constantly threatened by its two more powerful neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. To counter the threat from Thailand, Cambodia would establish an alliance with Vietnam and vice versa. Cambodia’s formal relationship with Vietnam began in the early 1600s when Cambodian King Chey Chetha II married a daughter of Vietnamese Lord Nguyen Hy Tong.[1] Through the alliance, Vietnamese migrants were permitted to settle in Khmer territory. The complex relationship between the two countries and between Cambodia and Thailand have also led to Cambodia’s diminishing independence over the past centuries.”

    Regional Partners Seek Clarity on Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

    The Diplomat/ Matthew P. Goodman, Aidan Arasasingham/ April 15

    “After years on the sidelines in Asia, the Biden administration hopes its new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will get the United States back in the economic game. But while partners in the region welcome a U.S. return to the economic field, they remain skeptical of the benefits of joining Team IPEF. For the Biden administration to win over regional partners, it must address questions and concerns.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Votes Against The Suspension Of Russia’s Membership In The UN Human Rights Council

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Votes Against The Suspension Of Russia’s Membership In The UN Human Rights Council

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Jailed rights activist marks one year in pretrial detention

    RFA:

    • Nguyen Thuy Hanh, a Vietnamese human rights activist well known for founding the 50K Fund, a private finance initiative to help raise money for families of jailed prisoners of conscience, marked her first year in pretrial detention on April 7.
    • Hanh was arrested on April 7, 2021, by police in Hanoi for investigation for allegedly “distributing propaganda against the State.”
    • In 2020, Vietnamese authorities blocked her bank account after she raised about 500 million dong (US$21,600) to support the family of Le Dinh Kinh, the elderly leader of Dong Tam Village, who was shot dead by security forces during a police raid in January 2020.
    • Hanh had self-nominated herself to run for a seat in Vietnam’s National Assembly elections in 2016 but was disqualified by the authorities.
    • Hanh’s husband, Huynh Ngoc Chenh, said his wife was very depressed before her arrest and that the family is concerned that her psychological condition could worsen.
    • “My wife Hanh was suffering from serious depression and was being treated by a doctor in Saigon [Ho Chi Minh City] when she was arrested,” Chenh told RFA. “After a while, the detention center allowed us to send her some medicine.”
    • But authorities have not informed Hanh’s family about her current mental state while in detention. The family later coincidentally learned from other patients there that she was submitted to a month-long stay in a mental hospital.“We don’t know anything about her health conditions now,” Chenh said.

    Families of Dong Tam death-row inmates allowed family visits in prison

    • The families of Le Dinh Cong and Le Dinh Chuc on April 2 were allowed personal visitations at the Temporary Detention Center Number 2 in Thuong Tin District, Hanoi, after months of restricted visitations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an update from Le Dinh Cong’s daughter Nguyen Thi Duyen.
    • In her Facebook’s status, Duyen wrote that her father and uncle’s mental state remained in “very good” condition; however, she added that Le Dinh Cong had been infected with a severe skin fungus while in prison and asked her to send him some medications. Cong also told his daughter that he had never “personally viewed himself as a death row inmate.”
    • Le Dinh Cong and Le Dinh Chuc are the two sons of Dong Tam Village leader Le Dinh Kinh. They were sentenced to death by the Hanoi People Court during a trial on September 14, 2020, following the police raid of Dong Tam Village that resulted in the deaths of Kinh and three police officers. The Hanoi High Court upheld the sentencing in an appeal hearing on March 8, 2021.

    Australian government urges Vietnam to release political prisoner Chau Van Kham

    • The Australian government is urging Vietnam to free Chau Van Kham, a 72-year-old Vietnamese-born Australian serving a 12-year prison sentence for his involvement in a pro-democracy group, due to concerns about his old age and deteriorating health, Associated Press reports.
    • Kham was convicted of terrorism charges in 2019 by a court in Ho Chi Minh City for his support of the pro-democracy, political party Viet Tan. Hanoi accused Viet Tan of being a “terrorist group” but the organization called the charges “baseless” and said Kham’s legal proceedings were a sham.
    • Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she had argued for Kham’s release in a conversation with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi last year and in a phone call with Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son last week.
    • “In relation to Mr. Chau Van Kham, respecting the Vietnamese legal system and we do, our concern though is his age. He is in his 70s, he is unwell,” Payne told reporters. “We have sought an appropriate consideration of his circumstances given those facts and to have him allowed to return to Australia,” Payne said.

    Human Rights Watch urges European Union to pressure Vietnam over its human rights record

    • Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a press statement on April 4 has called on the European Union to pressure Hanoi to “comply with its human rights obligations, end its crackdown on activists, and release all political prisoners.”
    • The statement was made before a bilateral human rights dialogue between the EU and Vietnam is to be held in Brussels on April 6, 2022, according to HRW.
    • The rights advocate has underscored numerous arrests and the imprisonment of social and environmental activists in Vietnam over alleged tax evasion charges.
    • The Vietnamese authorities arrested and imprisoned Mai Phan Loi, a journalist, and Dang Dinh Bach, a lawyer, as they were trying to join the Domestic Advisory Group, an independent body set up under the agreement between the EU and Vietnam to monitor the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
    • “The EU-Vietnam human rights dialogue shouldn’t be just another box-ticking exercise,” said Claudio Francavilla, EU advocate at Human Rights Watch. “The Vietnamese government has undertaken binding obligations to respect human rights, and the EU should be adamant that Vietnam’s increased repression will carry consequences for Vietnam’s leadership.”

    Journalists in Vietnam are still prosecuted for practicing their profession

    • A court in Ho Chi Minh City on April 5 sentenced Nguyen Hoai Nam, a former state journalist, to three years and six months in jail for criticizing local authorities for their handling of a corruption case he uncovered as a reporter, RFA reports.
    • Nam used to work for the Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper. In 2018, the journalist investigated and submitted evidence of wrongdoing among employees of the Vietnam Internal Waterways Agency to the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security.
    • Among the employees at the state-owned agency who were identified in Nam’s reporting, 14 were unpunished despite having been allegedly proven guilty in a bribery case. Nam later wrote on Facebook that the court’s handling of the case was insufficient and that investigators were trying to “cover it up and allow the defendants to slip away.”
    • On April 2, 2021, the journalist was arrested and found guilty on charges of “abusing freedom and democracy to infringe on the legal interests of the state, organizations, and individuals,” a violation under Article 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. The court concluded that Nam’s posts also violated anti-defamation laws.
    • In a press statement on April 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Vietnamese authorities to “release journalist Nguyen Hoai Nam immediately and unconditionally, and stop imprisoning members of the press.”
    • “Vietnamese authorities must free journalist Nguyen Hoai Nam, who was wrongfully sentenced to prison for doing his job as an independent journalist,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Vietnam must stop treating journalists who report in the public interest as criminals, and should ensure that members of the press do not face prison for their work.”
    • Meanwhile, the provincial court of Quang Tri on April 7 announced its conviction of Phan Bui Bao Thy, another state journalist who was previously accused of slandering the province’s leaders.
    • According to the court’s decision, Thy was subjected to 12 months of correctional supervision; Le Anh Dung and Nguyen Huy, two of Thy’s accomplices, were each subjected to 18 months of correctional training.

    Vingroup seeks financing from the U.S. government for its expansion

    Vietnamese automaker Vinfast announced that it will seek financing from the United States government to help with its expansion of a planned manufacturing facility in North Carolina, Reuters reported with information from Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, who spoke to a group including reporters on April 9.

    • “It is also one of our financing options, but we need to prove to them that we are qualified,” Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong said.
    • The automaker said on April 7 that its Singapore-based holding company had filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. securities regulators, Reuters reported.
    • Vingroup, which is popularly known for its role as a contractor of key development projects in Vietnam, has recently placed its bet on the electric vehicle manufacturing venture amid the Vietnamese government’s wide crackdown on real estate developers over the alleged market and economic manipulation.
    • The latest example of this crackdown is the arrest of Do Anh Dung, chairman of the real estate developer Tan Hoang Minh, who is being investigated over allegations of “committing fraud.” Tan Hoang Minh was also involved in the manipulation of land prices in the auctions of the Thu Thiem New Urban Area project in Ho Chi Minh City.
    • In 2021, the company offered a hefty 2.4 billion dong (US$106,242) for a square meter of Thu Thiem land but then withdrew from the auction. The price suggested by Tan Hoang Minh was 130 times higher than the compensation rate for the seized lands of Thu Thiem citizens (about $797.)

    Vietnam votes against the resolution to suspend Russia’s membership in theUnited Nations Human Rights Council

    • On April 7, the UN General Assembly voted to approve the U.S. -led effort to suspend Russia from the 47-member Human Rights Council over its invasion and alleged killing of civilians in Ukraine. Vietnam joined 23 UN members, including China, Cuba, North Korea, and Laos, in voting against the resolution.
    • Hanoi’s objection to the UN resolution was in stark contrast to the speech made by Vietnamese Representative to the UN Dang Hoang Giang at the 11th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly, where he called on involved parties to “reduce tension, apply ceasefire and resume dialogue in order to seek long-term solutions to differences.”
    • “Vietnam opposes all actions of attacking civilians and violations of humanitarian and human rights laws,” Giang added as he emphasized the need to “verify recent information in a transparent, open and objective manner with the cooperation of all relevant sides.”
    • In an interview with RFA Vietnamese, Carl Thayer, emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales, said that Vietnam “has shot itself in the foot” for its decision and that there would be “a drop off of support” from the United States and other Western countries since they were disappointed with Hanoi’s support for Moscow.
    • According to The Vietnamese Magazine’s observations, state-run media in the country has reported on the suspension of Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council but avoided mentioning Vietnam’s opposition to the move.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Russia’s Ties to Southeast Asia and How They Affect the Ukraine War: Part 3, Singapore and Vietnam

    Council on Foreign Relations/ Joshua Kurlantzick/ April 7

    “Yet Russia remains the cornerstone of Vietnam’s military platforms, and, interestingly, there seem to be some divisions within the Vietnamese public about the Ukraine war as well. As To Minh So notes, “a Gallup International Poll in 2017 on perceptions of Global Leaders found that Vietnamese [were] more favorable of Putin than Russians, with 89 percent approving his leadership.” However, To Minh So also notes that, during the Ukraine war, public opinion in Vietnam appears less supportive of Putin, as much as can be judged via the state media (which has not called the war “an invasion”) and other outlets in an authoritarian country. Still, given the extensive level of public support for Putin just five years ago (and after Putin’s 2014 invasion of Crimea), it is easy to imagine that the Vietnamese public is heavily divided on how to view the Ukraine conflict.”

    Why Vietnam Holds the Trump Card in the US-Vietnam Partnership

    The Diplomat/ Khang Vu/ April 5

    “Vietnam seems to well understand its strong bargaining leverage and thus its refusal to raise the relationship to the level of a strategic partnership is based on the confidence of its importance in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. In other words, Vietnam’s reluctance does not hurt the positive outlook of U.S.-Vietnam relations. As U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet put it in his recent visit to Vietnam, bilateral exchanges show “the ever-growing strength of the United States-Vietnam relationship.” This explains why some Vietnamese officials claimed the partnership is already strategic in practice thanks to the current level of cooperation.”

    Will Vietnam Be Able to Wean Itself Off Russian Arms?

    Fulcrum/ Le Hong Hiep/ April 4

    “Nevertheless, relying on a single source of arms will subject Vietnam to serious risks. Apart from the above-mentioned issues, Moscow’s increasingly close ties with Beijing is another source of risk that Hanoi should be mindful of, given the intensifying South China Sea dispute. Putting in place plans to wean itself off Russian arms will only become increasingly important to Vietnam. The compatibility issue means that this needs to be done in phases, matching the retirement of old Russian platforms with the procurement of new platforms from other suppliers. During this process, in addition to improving domestic arms production capabilities, further strengthening its strategic ties with potential alternative suppliers will also help Hanoi better manage its diversification efforts.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Seeks To Strengthen Cooperation With The United States On Multiple Fronts

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Seeks To Strengthen Cooperation With The United States On Multiple Fronts

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine .

    Vietnamese billionaire arrested on market manipulation charges

    • Vietnam’s state media on March 29 reported that the investigation unit of the Public Security Ministry had arrested Trinh Van Quyet, a Vietnamese billionaire and director of the local real estate developer FLC, for further investigation in connection with  his alleged activities of “manipulating the stock market” and “concealing personal stock exchange activities.”
    • Quyet’s activities were allegedly in violation of Vietnam’s Article 211 of the 2015 Penal code, which has a maximum sentence of seven years of imprisonment for activities that undermine the country’s stock market exchange regulations.
    • State media also quoted police sources who said that other individuals at FLC were also under investigation for similar charges. Quyet’s arrest was a result of his selling of more than 70 million FLC stocks on January 1 without disclosing the transaction information and notifying the authorities in charge and investors of such activities.
    • The FLC director was fined 1.5 billion dong (US$65,677) and banned from making transactions for a period of five months. In 2017, he also received a 65 million dong fine for the same misconduct.
    • Quyet’s real estate conglomerate FLC was also accused by some of Vietnam’s environmental organizations, such as the Save Tam Dao, of colluding with local authorities to clear natural forests for real estate development projects, such as building golf courses. For example, FLC’s plan to cut down the Dak Doa pine forest in Gia Lai Province for golf course development in 2021 has caused a public stir. The project was reportedly suspended after Trinh Van Quyet was arrested.

    Vietnam’s automaker Vinfast signs a deal to build an electric automobile factory in the United States

    • Reuters on March 29 reported that the Vietnamese automaker Vinfast had signed a deal to invest US$2 billion to build a factory in North Carolina for the manufacture of its electric buses, SUVs, as well as batteries for electric vehicles.
    • Vinfast, owned by Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup, said that it plans to have a total investment of US$4 billion in the U.S.-based factory complex which is expected to finish by July 2024. It added that the initial manufacturing capacity will be 150,000 units per year.
    • In an official statement, U.S. President Joe Biden praised Vinfast’s investment in North Carolina as “the latest example” of his economic strategy at work. Biden also added that the electric SUV manufacturing investment is in line with the U.S. government’s efforts to build a clean energy economy as he encouraged other companies to make more in America and rebuild the supply chains domestically.
    • In 2021, Vingroup established its Singapore-based holding company called Vinfast Singapore and transferred a total of 51.5 percent of its stake to its subsidiary. The move was seen as part of the company’s plan to list shares of its car units in the United States, Reuters reported.
    • Despite its increasing global recognition, Vingroup and its subsidiary Vinfast are also a target of criticism in Vietnam for their opaque economic relationship with the Vietnamese government, where cronyism and favoritism are said to be the main drivers of their fast expansion.
    • Last year, Vinfast made headlines after the company announced that it would report one of its car buyers to the police after the customer uploaded videos on Youtube complaining about several technical problems with his newly bought Vinfast car. The Vietnamese automaker claimed that the uploaded videos contained “untrue content” which “affected the reputation of VinFast.”
    • Tran Van Hoang, the car owner, later decided to take down his video, but a Vinfast statement said that they “saved all the evidence” and subsequently sent their complaints to the police. “If a similar incident were to occur when operating in the United States, we will also submit a request to the authorities in accordance with local law, and to protect our legal rights,” the company said.

    Counselor of the U.S. Department of State visits Vietnam, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region

    • Counselor of the U.S. Department of State Derek Chollet made a visit to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan from March 28 to April 2 as he sought to consolidate the U.S. commitment to its Indo-Pacific allies and partners, according to a statement from the State Department’s spokesperson.
    • While in Hanoi, Counselor Chollet is expected to meet with senior government officials to affirm the United States-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and the U.S. commitment to ASEAN, discuss the ongoing crisis in Burma and talk about regional economic and security cooperation, as well as highlight the importance of respect for human rights, according to the statement.
    • At a press conference on April 1, Chollet said that Vietnam is an important partner of the U.S. in the region and he vowed to work closely with Vietnam to ensure freedom of maritime in the South China Sea, also known as the East Sea in Vietnam, and to promote cooperation.
    • On March 30, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper spoke at the reception ceremony for his new position, saying that the United States “will make every possible effort to support Vietnam.”
    • Knapper pledged to develop mutual cooperation between the United States. and Vietnam on multiple fronts, from helping the Southeast Asian country’s economy recover from COVID-19, boosting the effectiveness of its climate change response, in addition to providing Vietnam with workforce training and digital transformation programs.
    • Also at the ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh claimed that Vietnam wished to work together with the United States on the basis of “respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political institutions, and differences.”

    Social networking platforms reportedly removed “toxic content” upon the Vietnamese government’s request

    • Vietnam’s state-owned media on March 29 quoted official statistics and reported that foreign social networking sites, including Facebook, Youtube, and Tiktok, had complied with the government’s request to remove thousands of pieces of content that “defy the Communist Party and the Vietnamese government.”
    • The social networks have reportedly removed up to 90 percent of “anti-state posts” requested by the Vietnamese authorities.
    • According to government statistics, from January 1 to March 21, 2022, Facebook blocked and removed more than 525 posts that “publish false information and distribute information defying the Party and the government.”
    • At the same time, local authorities claimed that Google had removed 2,678 videos on its video-sharing platform Youtube while Tiktok deleted around 71 pieces of content that “promote false information and negative content which undermine [Vietnam’s] COVID-19 prevention strategy.”

    Former state journalist being tried for “defame provincial leaders”

    • Vietnam’s state-run media reported that the Quang Tri provincial court on March 30 held a trial for the former journalist Phan Bui Bao Thy, along with Le Anh Dung and Nguyen Huy, on charges of “abusing democratic rights and freedom to infringe on State and individual interests” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • According to their indictment, Thy, Dung, and Huy had written, edited, and posted information that “distort and defame several leaders of Quang Tri Province.” This information has consequently “created public skepticism towards the political qualities, morality, lifestyle, and capabilities of these individuals,” it added.
    • Thy got arrested on February 5, 2021, and was previously set to be tried on October 31. However, at that time, the Quang Tri court returned his case to the Procuracy’s Office for further investigation due to the lack of evidence.
    • On March 31, the Procuracy said it had gathered “well-grounded evidence” to prosecute and announced its suggested sentencing for the defendants. According to its suggestions, Thy and Dung are expected to receive from 9 to 12 months in prison, while Huy is expected to receive correctional training for up to 12 months.

    A truck driver was sentenced to 1 year in jail for expressing opinions on Vietnam’s COVID-19 strategy

    • Le Minh Tai, 38, a truck driver living in the southern province of Ca Mau, was convicted of “abusing democracy rights and freedom” and sentenced to one year in prison, State media reports.
    • According to his indictment, from September 17 to November 27, 2021, when Vietnam imposed strict lockdowns to combat spiking COVID-19 infections, Tai used his personal Facebook account to publish a total of “28 posts and nine videos” to complain about how the Ca Mau authorities’ stringent antivirus strategy had negatively affected the livelihoods of many truck drivers.
    • Tai’s online posts were regarded by local authorities as “containing negative information” as well as “distorting, defaming and slandering provincial leaders.” Last June, he was also fined 10 million dong for “using social networks to provide distorted information and defame other individuals’ reputation.”

    Vietnam publishes its voluntary midterm report on the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

    • The State-controlled VietnamPlus on March 31 reported that the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry had published the country’s voluntary midterm report on the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) third cycle recommendations, in addition to announcing Hanoi’s candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.
    • According to Do Hung Viet, Vietnam’s Assistant Foreign Minister, Vietnam “has been actively engaged with the UPR process” and the country’s efforts and accomplishments have been recognized while its shortcomings and challenges have also been identified.
    • Viet added that Hanoi has received and accepted “hundreds of recommendations” from the international community and these guidelines are important for Vietnam to “further improve the enjoyment of all human rights” in the country.
    • Nevertheless, the Vietnamese government has been widely condemned for the serious violation of the basic human rights of its citizens, including freedom of expression, movement, press, and association.
    • Human Rights Watch in February released a report documenting Hanoi’s systematic restriction of the rights to freedom of movement of political and human rights of activists, claiming that these unlawful activities from the Vietnamese government are “serious infringements on basic rights.”
    • The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) last December also urged the Hanoi authorities to “immediately release” human rights defenders Trinh Ba Phuong, Nguyen Thi Tam, Do Nam Trung, the independent author Pham Doan Trang, and citizen journalist Le Trong Hung, as well as “many others arbitrarily detained for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression.”
    • “All the cases follow similar worrying patterns that raise serious issues concerning the presumption of innocence, the legality of their detention, and the fairness of their trial,” said  Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the OHCHR.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Climate change accelerates US-Vietnam cooperation

    Asia Times/ James Borton/ March 30

    “Hanoi’s political leadership recognizes that Washington can increase its financial and technical assistance to help the nation meet climate challenges and support its renewable-energy developments. The Vietnam Green Growth Strategy (VGGS) has set targets to achieve low-emission development and help the nation’s efforts to mitigate climate change.

    USAID continues to play a supporting role in Asia’s Low Emission Development Strategy partnership, which provides training, knowledge sharing, and cooperation to more effective use of LEDS tools and practices in development decision-making and financing.”

    Vietnam’s Mediascape Amid the War in Ukraine: Between Method and Mayhem

    Fulcrum/ Hoang Thi Ha/ March 30

    “In contrast to mainstream media’s disciplined coverage, social media, especially Facebook and YouTube, provide the platforms for many Vietnamese to express their ‘wild and loud’ opinions and share information that has often been labeled by different groups as mis- and dis-information. Dozens of new Facebook groups with memberships ranging from a thousand to around 200,000 have been created to focus on the war in Ukraine while many YouTube posts covering the war by both individuals and quasi-private media outlets draw thousands to millions of views. This buzz on Vietnam’s social media platforms suggests that the disciplined approach of Vietnam’s mainstream media in their coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war has not been able to satisfy the hunger for alternative news sources and commentary among many Vietnamese.”

    Vietnam and the Russian ties that bind them

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ March 17

    “A 2019 study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found Vietnam imported 84% of its total arms from Russia between 1995 and 2019. The submarines, tanks, fighter jets, and assorted weaponry totaled $7.4 billion during the time period.

    Sanctions also could impact Vietnam with a disruption in remittances for Russian transactions, problems for Vietnamese nationals living in Russia, and lost tourism revenue.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Sentences Former Citizen Journalist To 5 Years In Prison

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Sentences Former Citizen Journalist To 5 Years In Prison

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

    Vietnam sentences former citizen journalist to 5 years in prison

    • Le Van Dung, an independent journalist also known by his pen name Le Dung Vova, was sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation for “distributing anti-state materials” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s former 1999 Penal Code during a two-hour trial at the Hanoi’s People Court on March 23.
    • Le Dung Vova runs an independent Youtube channel called “Chan Hung Nuoc Viet TV” (Reinvigorating Vietnam Television). In 2017,  he posted videos and hosted talk shows on the channel discussing various social and political issues. He also nominated himself as an independent candidate in Vietnam’s 2021 National Assembly elections but was eventually disqualified by the Vietnamese authorities.
    • One day before the trial, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Hanoi’s move to prosecute Le Van Dung and urged Vietnamese authorities to drop all charges and release him. “International donors and trade partners of Vietnam should press Hanoi to listen to its critics instead of persecuting them,” said Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director.
    • Meanwhile, the press freedom advocate Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on March 23 pushed Vietnam to “release journalist Le Van Dung immediately and stop imprisoning members of the press.” “If Vietnam wants to be taken seriously as a responsible global actor, it must stop treating journalists as criminals,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative.

    Vietnam upholds activist’s conviction for “distributing anti-state materials”

    • On March 24, the Nam Dinh Provincial People’s Court upheld activist Do Nam Trung’s conviction for “creating, storing, and disseminating information, documents, items, and publications opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • Last December, Trung was sentenced to 10 years in prison and four years of probation for his advocacy of the protection of human rights, the environment and Vietnam’s maritime sovereignty.
    • Meanwhile, Trinh Thi Nhung, wife of local dissident blogger Bui Van Thuan, said that an investigator of the Thanh Hoa Police’s investigation unit threatened to arrest her if she did not limit her posts regarding the activism of Thuan on social media.
    • Previously, Nhung received a police summons on March 16 and was requested to present herself at the provincial police station.
    • The investigator also demanded Nhung provide the verification of the ownership of Thuan’s and her Facebook accounts for their investigation. Nhung said the police later threatened that they had all the evidence to prosecute her after she refused to comply with their demands.
    • Dissident blogger Bui Van Thuan was arrested in 2021 and also prosecuted under Vietnam’s Article 117 for “distributing anti-state propaganda.”  Thuan is now being held in pretrial detention in Thanh Hoa Province.

    Family of land rights activist Can Thi Theu allowed to visit her in prison

    • On March 24, the family of the Duong Noi land activist Can Thi Theu was allowed to visit her after she was transferred from Hoa Binh provincial police’s detention center to Thanh Hoa’s Camp 5 prison last month, according to her daughter Trinh Thi Thao. Theu had not been allowed to write, call or visit her family for a total of 21 months, Thao added.
    • Thao wrote that Theu’s overall health remained stable, but she looked skinnier since the first instance trial. She also added that her mother was subject to different types of mental and physical torture while in custody at the Hoa Binh provincial police detention center.
    • According to Thao, the torture methods deployed by Vietnamese authorities included the isolation of her mother with HIV-infected prisoners, sending her to solitary confinement with unbearable conditions, and depriving her of basic necessities while in detention.
    • Thao added that Trinh Ba Tu had been beaten in custody and was on hunger strike for 20 days.
    • Meanwhile, Do Thi Thu, wife of Trinh Ba Phuong, was allowed to visit her husband earlier on March 8. According to Thu, Phuong’s health remains in good condition and he received the single dose Russian-made COVID-19 Sputnik Light vaccine last December.

    Vietnam abstains from United Nations’ resolution calling to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine

    • On March 24, 140 members of the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution drafted by Ukraine and its allies to provide aid access and civilian protection in the country after Moscow invaded its neighbor one month ago.
    • One the one hand, Vietnam’s foreign ministry previously said in a press statement that the country “will support and contribute to UN humanitarian relief activities for Ukraine” in accordance with its permitted capabilities.
    • At the UN’s special session on March 23, Vietnamese Permanent Representative Dang Hoang Giang also reaffirmed Hanoi’s promise to join the effort of the international community in its humanitarian support for Ukraine.
    • Yet, Vietnam remained one of 38 countries that abstained from voting for the UN resolution on March 24 calling to facilitate such humanitarian assistance and operations.
    • It was also one of 35 countries on March 2 that did not vote in favor of the resolution to condemn Moscow’s aggression and demanded it to withdraw its troops.
    • According to The Vietnamese Magazine’s observations, state-owned media in Vietnam has largely avoided mentioning the country’s abstention of the UN General Assembly’s call to address the current humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

    Ukrainian fundraising event in Hanoi canceled by police

    RFA:

    • Vietnamese police on March 18 prevented Ukrainians in Hanoi from holding a fundraiser  to help those affected by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, the event organizers said.
    • The organizers planned to sell food and souvenirs and hold an art auction to raise money to send to Ukrainians affected by the war. They also arranged a musical performance to entertain visitors.
    • But authorities informed them on Friday that the event to be held at the Chula Fashion House in Hanoi’s Tay Ho District had to be canceled because of “police intervention.” They provided no further details. The district is known for hosting small fashion shows, musical performances and art exhibitions.
    • “We are very sad now as we have spent time and effort to prepare for the event,” a Ukrainian organizer who only gave her name as Julia told RFA. “We did all these things in order to raise funds for people in need in our home country.”

    Vietnam arrests businesswoman turned YouTube sensation for her live streaming

    RFA:

    • The Ho Chi Minh City’s Public Security Department arrested businesswoman and social media influencer Nguyen Phuong Hang for live streaming videos critical of celebrities and other figures, police announced Thursday.
    • Hang, the director of a local amusement theme park Dai Nam, was detained last Friday on charges of “abusing freedom and democratic rights” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code. Police said they arrested Hang for “insulting and using foul language to offend the honor and dignity of others” on her popular YouTube channel.
    • Hang’s videos criticizing celebrities and politicians have made her an internet sensation in Vietnam, with each post garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
    • The law used to prosecute Hang has also been widely deployed to silence dissenting voices and restrict freedom of speech in the country.

    China has fully militarized at least three artificial islands in the South China Sea, says U.S. Admiral

    • China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino told The Associated Press.
    • The Admiral added that Beijing had also been arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, lasers, jamming equipment, and fighter jets.
    • “I think over the past 20 years we’ve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC,” Aquilino said. “They have advanced all their capabilities and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Webinar: Vietnamese Civil Society: Recent Challenges and Prospects

    Date: April 07, 2022
    Time: GMT+8 10:00 am – 11:00 am
    About: This webinar will present examples of civil society actions over the past decade and examine prospects for Vietnamese civil society’s survival and effectiveness. To what extent is civil society facing temporary setbacks, or a permanent reversal? And absent high-level policy changes, what can Vietnamese civic actors and their supporters do to remain viable in an era of Party dominance?

    Ukraine conflict echoes loudest in Vietnam, not Taiwan

    Nikkei Asia/ Derek Grossman/ March 21

    “A fellow socialist state ruled by an authoritarian Communist Party, Hanoi is under growing pressure from China, particularly around overlapping sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. While China has not threatened an invasion of Vietnam like Russia’s of Ukraine, sometimes deadly maritime skirmishes between the two Asian countries have taken place. It is not unthinkable that an incident at sea could spill over onto land, disrupting the decadeslong peace at their shared border. To the contrary, such a scenario is more likely than an invasion of Taiwan any time soon.”

    Explaining the Vietnamese Public’s Mixed Responses to the Russia-Ukraine Crisis

    The Diplomat/ To Minh Son/ March 18

    “One thing unites these public opinions and the state: The idea of “independence,” an animating yet open-ended concept in the Vietnamese psyche. Critics of the war attach the concept to ASEAN’s non-interference principle, respect of sovereignty, and the precedent it sets for Chinese aggression, while supporters refer to Vietnam’s “four no’s” principle, “national interest,” “bamboo diplomacy,” and American hypocrisy. These talking points proliferate as the conflict rages on, with each new statement by the Vietnamese state voraciously shared and reinterpreted by supporters and detractors alike.”

    The Greening of Vietnam and Environmentalism 2.0

    Geopolitical Monitor/ James Borton/ February 28

    “Vietnam’s fast-track economic growth over the past several decades arrived at the expense of the environment, leading to polluted waterways, extensive loss of wildlife, marine biodiversity, and a near collapse of the fisheries. A global environmental performance ranking places Vietnam in 141st place out of 180 economies.”

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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine.