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Taiwan threatens sanctions over Philippines shooting
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’
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
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....
On Criticizing China
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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
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...
Catholic mothers face enormous pressure to abort baby girls
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
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
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
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
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
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’
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
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
‘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
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
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 […]
Vietnam’s Prosecutors Seek Lenient Sentence for ‘Folk Hero’ Farmer
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
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
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
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
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
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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 […]
Mourners Clash with Vietnamese Authorities
Hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police during a funeral this weekend in northern Vietnam, officials and state media said Monday, in a rare incident highlighting the alleged impunity enjoyed by top-ranked officials in the one-party communist nation. The violence broke out in the Vinh Phuc provincial capital Vinh Yen on Sunday, according to the […]
Mysterious Attack on a Vietnamese Blog
Round up the usual suspects… Twenty months ago, I was approached by a member of the team that puts out the Anh Ba Sam blog, Vietnam’s leading source of “alternative news.” Would I mind, they asked, if they posted a Vietnamese translation of a story that I’d written on the deepening South China Sea crisis. […]
Vietnamese Coffee Brews Global Dreams
When it comes to beverages of choice, Asia conjures images of tea for most, from the bitter powdery green tea (matcha) of Japan’s tea ceremony and China’s soothing oolong to India’s sweet-spicy masala chai. Through a twist of historical fate, however, Vietnam bucks this trend and has developed one of the most thriving coffee scenes […]
Japan PM Abe’s Pacific trade pact gambit pays off
Reuters – Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s first politically risky step of declaring the country’s intent to join talks on a U.S.-led Pacific Rim free trade pact appears to be paying off as his record high ratings edge even higher. Public opinion surveys showed on Monday that Abe’s support ratings had risen since last month […]
Vietnamese reject Chinese fruit
HANOI – Jack Nguyen had sold 20 of his 30 containers of imported American grapes when a fresh round of rumours hit the internet and state-run media: Chinese fruit on sale in Vietnam might look good, but it contains deadly levels of preservatives and pesticides. Shoppers quickly stopped buying imported fruit altogether, believing it all […]
Anti-Nuclear Energy Activists Becoming More Vocal in Taiwan
TAPEI — A wave of mass street protests in Taiwan has prompted the island’s government to reconsider a fourth nuclear power plant. Demonstrators at concerts and elsewhere this past weekend said the plant would threaten inhabitants of Taiwan’s north coast. About 220,000 people turned out for loud, emotional demonstrations in Taiwan’s three biggest cities to […]