IS THERE 'FREEDOM OF SPEECH' IN VIETNAM?

There is freedom to 'Rock-N-Roll' in today's Vietnam, just don't criticize the government

One afternoon I was traveling through Hanoi by taxi, when I saw a rare sight. Passing by a government building, I saw that a crowd of Vietnamese citizens had gathered out front. A mass of about 60 adult Vietnamese were all grouped together, seated on the ground, and totally silent. This is what passes for a demonstration in Vietnam. There were no speeches, no chanting, and no colorful banners advocating their cause. It was basically a public sit-in.

I would've liked to take a photo of the peaceful demonstrators, but I didn’t dare. There were no uniformed police, but plainclothes police were likely present, watching everyone and everything. Freedom of speech and public assemblies that criticize the government, can quickly get you in trouble here. Anti-government dissent is rarely tolerated in Vietnam. This demonstration could have been over any number of things: corruption, repression of religious sects, and unfair land confiscation have been common issues these days.

A peeking door looks into an old prison cell in Vietnam

When it comes to freedom in Vietnam, the good news is that they have come a long, long way since the dark days of the cold war. The bad news is that rights are still repressed, and they still have a long way to go.

Take the oddities of daily newspapers for example. With the reforms of doi moi, newspaper content has improved drastically. For the most part, communist dogma has been replaced with regular news articles. The national press now publishes many stories from western media verbatim, such as from Associated Press and Reuters. During my travels, I often read the national English language newspaper, ‘Viet Nam News’, and most stories printed within are indeed newsworthy. The format mostly mirrors western papers, with sections on world news, national news, business and sports. I even found stories covering NBA basketball.

Then there is what’s missing:

Internet access to foreign websites is better in Vietnam than in China

stories critical of the Vietnamese government are rare. Since Vietnam remains a one party system, the communist party is still the main source for government news. The occasional lead story about drab government policy shows the communist party still gets top billing when it so desires. Recent front page headlines include: “Performance key to evaluation of cadre: Party General Secretary.” Or this one: “Cultural exchange hailed as key to building Japan ties.”

Yawn…

As far as mass media goes, a recent step in the right direction, is that there are some privately owned publications. These periodicals tend to focus on fashion, lifestyle or business, rather than hard news. Newspapers, magazines and TV continue to be highly censored. To stay in business, most editors practice self-censorship to continue operating with government permission.
A foreign editor who published a monthly lifestyle magazine called “Asialife”, once explained to me his process of dealing with Vietnamese censorship. “Before it goes to the printer, we send the whole magazine in, and we have to have everything approved,” he told me. “We usually don’t have any problem. We get it back in about a week.”

The subject most notably absent from the daily news, is corruption. In a country where corruption is a top complaint, there are only infrequent stories about corrupt officials, and the occasional crackdowns. Of course, the communist party itself is aware that corruption is their biggest problem, but with so much money flowing into Vietnam’s rising economy, their current manners of dealing with it are like holding back the tide with a bucket. There is even less will on the part of the Vietnamese press to report on those who are arrested and convicted. Even the Chinese press to the north reports more often on their corruption crackdowns, than does the Vietnamese media.

Internet cafe in Vietnam, note that all those within are young people

When comparing Vietnam and China, one freedom that the Vietnamese have more of, is freedom on the internet. Most western websites are unblocked, and viewable within Vietnam. Internet usage has grown so fast, that even Google and Yahoo have Vietnamese language websites and services. But government IT censors do what they can to block many pro-democracy websites, as well as news stories and human rights websites critical of the Vietnamese government. In 2008, the Ministry of Information and Communication created a new agency tasked with monitoring the internet. Like China, they seek to filter out more anti-government information.

Bloggers have daringly tried to fill in the gap in independent news that is left by the traditional state dominated media. Unfortunately for local citizen journalists, Vietnam is not a good country to be a blogger. A select number of high profile bloggers who have been critical of the government have been arrested in recent years.

In 2008, prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay, was sentenced to 30 months in prison on tax evasion charges. Nguyen was the founder of the blogging group called the Union of Independent Journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists stated that these charges were in reprisal for his blogging. With his conviction, Vietnamese bloggers are learning that exercising free speech online can lead to time in prison. 

SHOCKING BUDDHIST PROTEST

The auto which drove monk Thich Quang Duc to Saigon

I’ve headed upriver from downtown Hue, and gone to a quieter corner of this former royal capital. Today I’m exploring a calmer, more relaxed place. I’m wandering through a Buddhist complex known as the Thien Mu Pagoda, and I’m enjoying the serenity. No matter what your religion is, everyone will agree that a pagoda is a place of peace.

Hue has always been a prestigious center of learning, and this tradition of education carried over into the pagodas, where novice monks still learn the ways of Buddhism. Thien Mu means ‘heavenly lady’, and the complex was established way back in 1601. The pagoda overlooking the slowly flowing Perfume River is impressive in itself. At seven stories in height, it’s one of Vietnam’s tallest.

I meander past the monastery, where the monks in their robes are going about their simple daily tasks of maintaining the complex. They clean, cook, study and meditate.

As I walk past a side building in the rear, I’m puzzled to see an old parked car through open doors. This is an odd place for a garage. Inside is an old blue Austin sedan that hasn’t been driven in ages. Strangely, a white and brown rabbit is seated underneath the old auto. This car is connected to this pagoda, and its place in history. A sign in front of it reads:

“A relic. In this car The Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc went from An Quang Pagoda to the intersection of Phan dinh Phung street and Le van Duyet street on June 11, 1963 in Saigon. As soon as he got out of the car, The Most Venerable sat down in the lotus position and burnt himself to death to protest against the Ngo dinh Diem regime’s policies of discriminating against Buddhists and violating religious freedom.”

Unlike most Vietnamese, the dictator Diem wasn’t Buddhist, he was Catholic. But Catholics and Buddhists alike feared him, since he ruled South Vietnam with an iron fist. With Diem oppressing Buddhists, Thich Quang Duc and several other Vietnamese monks committed suicide in this way as an act of protest. In recent years, several Buddhist monks in Tibet have died in this shocking manner, as they protest against the Chinese government.

A rabbit sits underneath the old car

On the wall behind the car, is a copy of the famous photo of the monk’s death,  seen in newspapers around the world. Seated on a Saigon street, the dying monk is surrounded by gasoline fed flames. In the background behind him, is the car parked here in front of me. Witnesses said that as Thich Quang Duc was consumed by the flames, he never cried out at all. To prepare himself for this final ordeal, he had been meditating for weeks.

Fast forward to 1993, and a Vietnamese man killed himself in the same way near  this very pagoda. After he set himself on fire, he chanted the word, “Buddha”. Although the earlier monks who had died from self-immolation were protesting the government, it isn’t publicly known what the later immitator was protesting.

After this tragic incident, the communist government later responded in the same way that Diem’s dictatorship had before it. They arrested monks, even though this time the man who had killed himself wasn’t a monk. So much for freedom of religion granted in the current constitution.

Leaving the quiet pagoda, I walk down the steps of the nearby riverbank, and board a dragon boat that takes me back into Hue’s city center.
 
Shadows lengthen, and I take a late afternoon stroll. Walking past a bookstore, I remember Hue is a college town. I’m wondering how much censorship I will find when it comes to the written word, so I head inside.

Dinner drink. Hue Beer, in a Coke glass, in an 'Italian' restaurant?

It’s a modern looking bookstore, and I’m surprised to find that there are plenty of western books. The largest selection is for Vietnamese translations of software books for popular PC programs.

Given the country’s economic liberalization, there are also plenty of books lining the shelves related to business and capitalism. On the shelves are biographies of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates. There are no less than six books  written by, or about, Donald Trump. There's the self-help book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” There’s no reactionary literature here, the only book related to politics is by Barack Obama.

After I grab some dinner, I head back down to the riverfront. Some street vendors are selling their wares, and have laid out war relic merchandise by the sidewalk. There are dog tags, pins, mess kits, and canteens. Just like I saw while shopping in Saigon-HCMC, most of what I see here are fakes.

One thing that isn’t fake, is an old concrete bunker that I approach. This pillbox shaped fortification was used during the war to guard this end of the

US military insignia and dog tags for sale; most are fakes

bridge. It’s present use is the oddest I’ve seen yet for an old military fortification. As I watch, a street vendor unlocks the bunker door, and carries several cages inside filled with live birds. This may not be a proper aviary, but for this street seller, it will do for pet bird storage.

The skies grow darker as I continue during my evening walk, and I get a better view of Trang Tien Bridge. It’s an older engineering style, with steel girders arching over each span like six great camel humps. Now that its night time, the bridge is lighted beautifully, and each section has separate lights that change colors. They go from purple, to blue, to green, to yellow, to white, and back to purple again. It creates a visual symphony of color.

Passing a university, I take a side path into a riverside park. It’s more of an art park really, with many sculptures of various styles. Thankfully, none of the sculptures are political for a change. Like the colored bridge, this is art for art’s sake.

Old military 'pillbox' bunker from the war years, used today for bird storage!

An occasional boat floats down the channel before me. It’s dark now, and this locale has a dreamy view of the riverside at night. As usual, young couples have gathered in the park, taking advantage of the romantic view. 

In the park the lighting is dim, but the opposite river bank is well lit with an arrangement of neon signs, some of them several stories tall. They are all for Vietnamese companies: Agribank, Co-op Mart, Kuda Beer and Viettel Mobile. I remember seeing communist party billboards in town, but they simply can’t compete with all of this bright capitalist neon.

I’m leaving this former capital soon, since I’ll be heading north to the former De-militarized Zone, but I’m wishing that I could stay here and enjoy the slow pace of Hue just a little while longer.

Hue has had a turbulent past, and endured destruction by the French, by the communists, and by the Americans. It has been rebuilt, and reborn as a city of art,  education, and culture. It has

Colorful incense for sale in Hue, used for Buddhist ceremonies

regained its position as one of Vietnam’s most beautiful cities. It’s a classical city at peace.



**NOTE** 

Links to more of my Hue stories and photos: 

RUINS OF BATTLE FOR HUE

FORBIDDEN CITY FOR KINGS