Vietnam’s National Assembly has accepted the resignation of Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong, who has become the second president to step down in as many years amid a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign. In a statement yesterday, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) announced that it had accepted Thuong’s resignation from all official … Read more
Vietnam’s National Assembly is scheduled to meet later this week to discuss unspecified “personnel issues,” Reuters reported today, citing a letter sent to legislators that raises the possibility of more upheaval at the upper ranks of the government. The letter signed by the general secretary of the national assembly Bui Van Cuong and sent to … Read more
Vietnam yesterday opened its trial in the case of the real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, who faces the death penalty in one of the country’s largest-ever corruption cases. The 66-year-old, who headed real estate company Van Thinh Phat, is accused of using “thousands of ghost companies” to embezzle an eye-popping 304 trillion dong ($12.54 … Read more
The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has issued a broad-ranging directive calling for further restrictions against the activities of civil society groups, including trade unions, and increasing scrutiny of foreign organizations and Vietnamese nationals traveling abroad. The document, known as Directive 24, was obtained by Project88, a Bangkok-based human rights organization focused on Vietnam, which … Read more
Similar to other authoritarian regimes worldwide, the survival of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) hinges on the support of ordinary citizens. Initially, the CPV sought widespread legitimacy and support through a combination of nationalism and communism. However, the near collapse of the economy in the 1980s led to disillusionment regarding ideology-based legitimacy, prompting the … Read more
In every war, whichever side wins, after allIt’s the people who lose.– Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Duy. Tang Guoqiang, known in Vietnamese as Đường Quốc Cường, is among the most renowned mainland Chinese actors in Vietnam. Tang is particularly known for playing prominent historical figures in period dramas, which were staples on Vietnamese TV in the late 1990s … Read more
This month Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong failed to make an appearance during the recent visits of the Lao prime minister and Indonesian president. This gave rise to intense speculation in the Western media that Trong is seriously ill and is being treated in hospital. While Trong subsequently appeared at … Read more
Outside my window, as I write, snow is falling in clods, scattering powder on the ground I fear won’t last until the 25th. Christmastime is upon us and, naturally, a worn-down copy of “A Christmas Carol” is being thumbed through a chapter per day in the Hutt household. Concurrently, I’m also reading, less merrily, the … Read more
After much speculation and delay, Chinese President Xi Jinping finally visited Vietnam this week, to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in 2008. Vietnam’s state media called the visit a “historic milestone” that would elevate China-Vietname inter-party and inter-state relations to a higher level. Likewise, Xi penned … Read more
The head of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has pledged to broaden and deepen its campaign against corruption, a week after police revealed the scale of an ongoing graft investigation worth an estimated $12.5 billion. “We need to conduct the anti-corruption fight faster in a more efficient manner,” CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong … Read more