NV Blog - English

Vietnam Jails Two Over Leaflets

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:28 GMT

A court in southern Vietnam on Thursday sentenced two young activists to several years in prison for distributing “anti-government” leaflets, in a trial relatives and rights groups condemned as unfair...

Vietnam Fueling Cambodian, Lao Land Disputes

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:22 GMT

Backed by powerful banks, Vietnamese rubber companies are rapidly expanding their operations in Cambodia and Laos by grabbing land from villagers and disregarding the environment, according to an extensive probe...

Vietnamese search engine takes on Google

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:11 GMT

Knock Knock, we’re coming to get you, Google! Vietnam start-up challenges global search giant because it doesn’t get nuances of local language Coc Coc – or Knock Knock in English...

Taiwan threatens sanctions over Philippines shooting

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:38 GMT

TAIPEI — President Ma Ying-jeou said Saturday Taiwan would consider sanctions against the Philippines amid widespread public outrage at Manila over the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman. “We will definitely...

Vietnam: Stop Blocking ‘Human Rights Picnics’

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:13 GMT

Activists Harassed and Assaulted for Discussing Rights The Vietnamese authorities should stop impeding and abusing people trying to hold “human rights picnics” in public spaces. Despite government abuse and bullying, some people...

Li underlines Vietnam ties

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:04 GMT

Talks highlight how Beijing, Hanoi have great potential incooperation China and Vietnam on Friday agreed to properly handle theSouth China Sea issue, as Premier Li Keqiang met a high-rankingVietnamese official. Forging good bilateral relations is the joint wish of the peoples ofthe two neighboring countries, but that ”needs good conditions”,Li told Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan atZhongnanhai, the central government's headquarters indowntown Beijing. Nguyen is in the Chinese capital to preside over the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation with StateCouncilor Yang Jiechi. Li said ”both sides should well control and handle their disparitieson the South China Sea issue, and not let it disturb thedevelopment of bilateral ties and cooperation”, according to astatement released by the Foreign Ministry. Beijing's ties with Hanoi have been overshadowed by their territorial dispute in the South ChinaSea. The Vietnamese National Assembly last year passed the Law of the Sea, which puts China'sXisha and Nansha islands in Vietnam's territory. Wu Shicun, director of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said some ofVietnam's actions have broken its promise of keeping stability in the South China Sea. “For instance, Vietnam has encouraged illegal fishing in the area and required support frompowers not involved in the South China Sea issue, only to make the situation worse and morecomplex.” Still, the Chinese premier on Friday called Vietnam an ”important and close neighbor”. “China and Vietnam see each other's development as an opportunity,” Li said, calling for thetwo nations to view bilateral ties from ”a strategic and comprehensive height”. Nguyen told Li that Vietnam is willing to properly handle the South China Sea issue and beef upthe traditional friendship, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges with China. Jia Duqiang, an expert on Southeast Asian studies with the Chinese Academy of SocialSciences, said Li has conveyed two messages to Vietnam - that Vietnam should stop furthercomplicating the territorial dispute, and that Beijing and Hanoi have great potential incooperation if they can handle the ties well. “Though Vietnam has asked for help from the United States to counterbalance China, it is fullyaware that this is not easy to achieve,” Jia said. He noted the fact that China is Vietnam's biggest trade partner, with bilateral trade exceeding$40 billion in 2012. The volume is expected to reach $60 billion by 2015. Deals at the China-Vietnam Border Economic and Trade Fair 2012 held in November reached$347 million, up 142 percent compared with the figure for 2010. Besides, Vietnam is in need of more foreign investment to improve its infrastructure. Hanoi isreforming its investment restrictions on private capital for transportation projects. With more than 16,000 students in China, Vietnam is now the fourth-largest source country for China in terms of overseas students. China Daily

On Criticizing China

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:59 GMT

A unified field theory on assessing goods and bads. The day just ended, Friday, May 10, was an absolutely beautiful day in Beijing. Warm, clear, sunny, fresh — the kind...

Vietnam Adds U.S.-Educated Official to Party’s Politburo

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:56 GMT

Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party for the first time chose a U.S.-educated government official to join its highest decision-making body, tapping a face familiar to Western investors as it seeks to...

The Vietnam syndrome

Fri, 10 May 2013 08:57 GMT

Regarding Iraq and Afghanistan, are we telling ourselves — and believing — the same false story we told in 1975? Thirty-eight years ago last week, I was among the last CIAofficers...

Vietnam’s Star Is Dimming

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:28 GMT

Like other would-be tiger economies, Vietnam faces a trifecta of new threats: a crisis-paralyzed Europe, a faltering America, and a newly spendthrift Japan. Yet the biggest risk to the nation’s future may be old-fashioned...

Vietnam youth suffering high unemployment rate: ILO

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:17 GMT

The rate of unemployed Vietnamese aged between 15 and 24 was more than three times higher than that of their more mature counterparts in 2012, the International Labor Organization (ILO)...

Communist Vietnam — Human Trafficker Extraordinaire

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:14 GMT

Vietnam is now the proud possessor of the inglorious title “The Worst Human Rights Violator in Southeast Asia,” according to recent testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. State-affiliated...

Henry A. Prunier, 91, U.S. Soldier Who Trained Vietnamese Troops, Dies

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:04 GMT

Henry A. Prunier taught Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese general who withstood the armies of France and the United States, how to throw a grenade. The lesson came in July...

The Spark that Ignited the Vietnam War

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:01 GMT

The 40th anniversary of the withdrawal of American troops from the Vietnam War was recently commemorated, but ignored was the 50th anniversary of an incident that led to U.S. combat units being...

Vietnam must keep cool head in China row

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:44 GMT

Ten days ago, I travelled to Ly Son Island, a volcanic atoll thirty kilometers off Vietnam’s central coast. I wasn’t there for the island's famous garlic and seafood, but rather...

China’s cyberspies mean business, says Pentagon

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:33 GMT

When Xi Jinping took over as general secretary of the ruling Communist party in Beijing late last year, it provoked a flurry of speculation about whether he was in genuine...

Tax dodge by some Vietnamese dealers hurts foreign coffee firms

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:08 GMT

LONDON/HANOI, May 9 (Reuters) – Some local dealers are using a tax dodge to buy up much of the coffee in Vietnam, the world's top producer of the robusta variety...

Vietnamese Activists Form ‘Brotherhood for Democracy'

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:28 GMT

A group of mostly former jailed dissidents in Vietnam have set up a new online group to coordinate efforts to bring democracy to the country, now under one party communist...

Banned Vietnamese Buddhist Group's Pagoda Blockaded

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:24 GMT

Security forces in southern Vietnam surrounded the pagoda of a banned Buddhist group over the weekend and barred monks from leaving the monastery, in the latest crackdown on the group...

40 years on, fleeing Vietnamese take to seas again

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:21 GMT

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nearly 40 years after hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fled the country's Communist regime by boat, a growing number are taking to the water again. This...

Vietnam : Police use violence against bloggers at human rights picnics

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:02 GMT

Bloggers and netizens who took part in “picnics to discuss human rights” in public places in several Vietnamese cities on 5 May were violently attacked by police and many were...

Exiled Tibet PM ‘not challenging' China Communists

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:04 GMT

WASHINGTON — The leader of Tibet's exiled government said he would accept the Chinese Communist Party's rule in the territory, assuring Beijing it faced no threat to its sovereignty if...

Plea for help for prisoner of conscience Ho Thi Bich Khuong

Mon, 06 May 2013 01:41 GMT

To all Human Rights organizations, To all fellow countrymen at home and abroad To all freedom-loving people. I have just received information this morning on May 5, 2013 from Duc...

Son of Chinese government official jailed over tutor bribe bid

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:28 GMT

The son of a Chinese government official was jailed yesterday for trying to bribe a British university professor with £5,000 to pass his degree. Yang Li also took an imitation...

Vietnamese Prostitutes Are Using Facebook For Sex-Commerce

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:59 GMT

Despite Facebook’s stringent photo policy, some things always just slip through the cracks. And this time, it’s prostitution. The police authorities in Hanoi, Vietnam, just caught a prostitution ring leader named Do...

Vietnamese Activist Held Over U.S. Meeting

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:05 GMT

Vietnamese government security agents bundled a local activist from his home and held him for five hours to prevent him from meeting a U.S. official visiting Hanoi for an annual...

Catholic mothers face enormous pressure to abort baby girls

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:08 GMT

Three years ago, Hoai Anh terminated her 14-week-old pregnancy after an ultrasound scan showed the baby would be a girl. “I feel thoroughly miserable for having taken away my child’s life. If my parents had also had gender-selective abortion, I would not exist,” the Catholic woman said, in tears. Pale and thin, she says she […]

Vietnam: Rights Dialogue Should Produce Concrete Steps

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:16 GMT

Washington, DC – The Vietnamese government should use the opportunity of the upcoming US-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue to release political prisoners and make commitments to end the persecution of bloggers, land rights activists, and other peaceful critics, Human Rights Watch said today. The 17th US-Vietnam Human Rights dialogue will take place in Hanoi beginning on April […]

Vietnamese Dissidents Attacked by Police-Linked Thugs

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:05 GMT

Unidentified assailants believed to be connected to the police on Tuesday ambushed and severely beat a Vietnamese dissident a day after he tried to shield a prominent woman land rights activist from harassment and attack by suspected government agents, according to the victims. Five or six men appeared suddenly from a bush and beat dissident […]

Vietnamese Blogger’s Home Targeted with Rank Liquid

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00 GMT

A prominent blogger said Monday that he and his family in central Vietnam have been victimized by what he believes are agents hired by local security forces to threaten him over his online criticism against the state. The once-imprisoned Huynh Ngoc Tuan, 50, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that the attack occurred at 12:30 a.m. on […]

Three Uyghurs Held for Resisting Land Takeover

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:52 GMT

Authorities have arrested three Uyghurs who they say resisted and assaulted public officers sent to expropriate their farmland for a market in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to local sources. Farmer Mettohti Imin, his teenage son Abdusalam Mettohti, and a family friend were taken into custody in late March after confronting “more than […]

What China Learned from the Soviet Union’s Fall

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:16 GMT

Why the process of assessing blame for the collapse of the USSR is still a hot topic in Beijing In a major speech on July 24, 2012 China’s President, Hu Jintao, called for the country to “unswervingly” carry out reform and opening up and to fight against rigidity and stagnation. This follows on the heels […]

‘My Sister Was Forced Into Sex Slavery'

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 05:26 GMT

Hui Danh's sister Huynh Thi Be Huong is one of 15 young women from Vietnam who fell prey to a Vietnamese-run sex trafficking ring in Russia. According to the women, when they asked for help from the Vietnamese embassy in Moscow, their situation got worse because officials there were linked with the traffickers. On April 11, 2013 […]

Vietnamese always at a disadvantage when doing business with Chinese

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:11 GMT

China has always been gaining the upper hand in doing business with Vietnam. Experts believe that Vietnam has been yielding to the big foreign partner on many issues. China remains the No. 1 trade partner for Vietnam. A report of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) showed that the two-way trade turnover in […]

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Dies

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:02 GMT

‘Iron Lady' Was Among Most Influential Global Leaders of Postwar Period Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister who became one of the most influential global leaders of the postwar period, died on Monday, April 8, 2013. LONDON—Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister who became one of the most influential global leaders of the […]

China's Xi Sets Tone on Regional Relations

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:04 GMT

BOAO, China—Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged Asian “frictions” and “hot spots” in an address on Sunday to regional business and political leaders amid mounting alarm over North Korea's nuclear threat and territorial disputes between China and its neighbors. Mr. Xi didn't single out any country in his address at the three-day Boao Forum for Asia, […]

Vietnamese folk hero jailed for 5 years

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:43 GMT

HANOI — A court in northern Vietnam has sentenced two shrimp farmers charged with attempted murder during a land seizure to five years in prison. The case has stoked debate over crucial land use reforms in the country. On Friday, the Hai Phong People’s Court handed down the sentence to shrimp farmer Doan Van Vuon and […]

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00 GMT

Vietnam’s Prosecutors Seek Lenient Sentence for ‘Folk Hero’ Farmer

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:32 GMT

Vietnamese prosecutors on Thursday (April 4, 2013) asked a court to impose a lenient sentence on a former soldier who fought off a government eviction from his farm, a move some say is meant to avoid angering a public fed up with land seizures and corrupt officials. Prosecutors proposed that Doan Van Vuon be sentenced […]

EU-Vietnam weigh FTA

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:40 GMT

HANOI – A proposed free-trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and Vietnam promises to bolster already fast-rising bilateral trade. While both sides agree an FTA would on the whole be mutually beneficial, negotiations will likely be complicated by the potential socio-economic impacts a pact would have on Vietnam's fragile transitional economy. Negotiations, which started […]

Vietnamese Women Fall Prey to Sex Racket

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:39 GMT

Fifteen Vietnamese women have been forced into sex slavery after going to work in Russia, according to one of them who managed to escape following a one-year ordeal at a Moscow brothel but is still living in fear of her captors. Huynh Thi Be Huong said she was among four women who initially fled the […]

Trials begin in Vietnam controversial land revocation case

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:31 GMT

Two trials in the high-profile land revocation case involving a violent clash between farmers and authorities in the northern port city of Hai Phong last year are scheduled to get underway early this month. In one hearing, which will be held April 2-5, Doan Van Vuon, 51, his two brothers and his nephew will be […]

On Trial and Split Apart, Vietnamese Clan Defiant

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:46 GMT

The broken bricks and roof tiles of Doan Van Vuon's house, bulldozed by Vietnamese authorities trying to evict him, lie next to his relatives' new home, a shack of bamboo and corrugated iron that testifies to their perseverance. Vuon and three male relatives have been detained for more than a year and are now on […]

Farmers Tried for Fighting Police in Vietnam

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:20 GMT

A Vietnamese court has begun hearing the trial of four fish farmers charged with attempted murder for fighting back against police and army officers seeking to evict them from their land last year. Landowner Doan Van Vuon and three male relatives are accused of using improvised explosive devices and shotguns and injuring seven security officers. […]

Trial begins of Vietnam fish farmer turned folk hero

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:04 GMT

The trial of a Vietnamese fish farmer who became a folk hero after using homemade shotguns to resist eviction began, with scores of people defying a heavy police presence to show their support. Hundreds of police shut down the roads by the Hai Phong People's Court to hold back supporters of Doan Van Vuon, who […]

Vietnamese Political Prisoner ‘Seriously Ill'

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:58 GMT

The health of one of Vietnam’s longest-held political prisoners is deteriorating rapidly and he is seeking medical parole, his daughter said Monday, raising concerns about inadequate medical care in the prison. Poet Nguyen Huu Cau, 66, who is serving a life sentence for “sabotage” over his writings that exposed corruption by ruling Communist Party officials, […]

Vietnam's Obstacles to Reform

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:20 GMT

Despite the Vietnamese public's lack of trust in the government, despite the government's rights violations, reform remains a distant hope. The path to change is littered with obstacles, and what comes after is equally challenging. Vietnam's economic woes might finally be turning a corner; however, the damage has been done, and its impact has been […]

The rise of Chinese contractors in Vietnam

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:09 GMT

By the end of 2009 Chinese engineering companies were involved in projects worth US$15.4 billion in Vietnam, making the Vietnamese market their largest in Southeast Asia. On occasion, Chinese contractors have even accounted for up to 90 per cent of EPC (Engineering/Procurement/Construction) contracts for thermal power plants in the country. Two major factors account for the […]

US: Vietnam Backsliding On Human Rights

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration expressed concern Thursday about Vietnam's “backsliding” on human rights and asserted that advancing individual freedoms is key to U.S. policy in Asia. One example cited is Hanoi's treatment of bloggers who have faced prosecution under national security laws. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Dan Baer told a congressional panel […]

Chinese Artist Depicts Tibetan Protesters

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:36 GMT

Self-immolations by Tibetan monks have spiked with China’s leadership change. Beijing continues to ignore their message. BEIJING — On the fifth anniversary of violent protests against Chinese rule in Lhasa, Tibet, authorities are still grappling with unrest and a wave of self-immolations in Tibetan areas of China. One Beijing-based artist is trying to commemorate the lost […]