Tác giả: Trần Đình Hoành

I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn. . I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law. I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam. In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship. Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam. I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN. I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net). I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries. I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi: "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011) "10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013) "Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023) I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.

China accuses US of putting stability of Asia Pacific at risk

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Beijing reacts to defence secretary James Mattis saying that the US would defend Japan in a conflict with China over disputed Senkaku islands

James Mattis reviews the guard of honour prior to a meeting with Japanese defence minister Tomomi Inada in Tokyo on Saturday.
James Mattis reviews the guard of honour prior to a meeting with Japanese defence minister Tomomi Inada in Tokyo on Saturday. Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA

Japan Times

Friday 3 February 2017 23.54 EST Last modified on Saturday 4 February 2017 06.09 EST

China has accused the US of putting the stability of the Asia-Pacific at risk after Donald Trump’s defence secretary said Washington would come to Japan’s defence in the event of a conflict with Beijing over the disputed Senkaku islands.

James Mattis, on a two-day visit to Japan, said the islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, fell within the scope of the Japan-US security treaty, under which Washington is obliged to defend all areas under Japanese administrative control. Tiếp tục đọc “China accuses US of putting stability of Asia Pacific at risk” →

Donald Trump is making China great again

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The US president has dismayed the world; Xi Jinping has wooed it. This could be a huge win for Beijing

‘Xi Jinping reminded his audience of China’s contribution to global economic stability since the financial crisis, of an average of 30% of global growth each year.’
‘Xi Jinping reminded his audience of China’s contribution to global economic stability since the financial crisis, of an average of 30% of global growth each year.’ Photograph: POOL/Reuters

Two years ago, some European and US experts gathered to discuss China in an elegant English country house. The setting was seductive, but the mood was dark. Two years into Xi Jinping’s presidency, China’s politics were turning away from the liberalising trend of the previous three decades, towards a hard-edged nationalism that was discomfiting China’s immediate neighbours and their western allies.

China was getting more powerful but less friendly, squeezing foreign competition out of its internal markets, throwing its weight around the South China Sea, crushing internal dissent and enforcing loyalty to the regime. Tiếp tục đọc “Donald Trump is making China great again” →

U.S. warns North Korea of ‘overwhelming’ response to use of nuclear weapons

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U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (left) speaks as South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo listens prior to their meeting at Defense Ministry in Seoul Friday. | KIM MIN-HEE / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

jAPAN TIMES

AP Feb 3, 2017

Seoul – In an explicit warning to North Korea, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday said any use of nuclear weapons by the North on the United States or its allies would be met with what he called an “effective and overwhelming” response.

U.S. defense secretaries have long offered assurances to South Korea and Japan that its nuclear “umbrella” will protect them, but Mattis’ statement was perhaps more pointed than most. He made the remarks during an appearance with his South Korean counterpart, Defense Minister Han Min-koo. Tiếp tục đọc “U.S. warns North Korea of ‘overwhelming’ response to use of nuclear weapons” →

Brazen Killing of Myanmar Lawyer Came After He Sparred With Military

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By WAI MOE, MIKE IVES and SAW NANG FEB. 2, 2017

The funeral of U Ko Ni, a top adviser to the governing National League for Democracy, in Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday. Ye Aung Thu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

YANGON, Myanmar — The soft-spoken rights lawyer had devised a plan to replace Myanmar’s Constitution with one that would strip the military of its extraordinary political powers.

The lawyer, U Ko Ni, a top adviser to the governing National League for Democracy, had recently been working on a new draft, a colleague said, and he hoped to promote his project at a conference this month.

But when he returned to the Yangon airport on Sunday from a trip to Indonesia, cradling his young grandson in his arms as he waited for a taxi, a man drew a pistol and shot him in the head.

The killing appears to have been a rare political assassination in Myanmar, fueling rumors, distrust and worry about the country’s future.

“This bullet was not only for Ko Ni,” the colleague, U Thein Than Oo, a human rights lawyer in Mandalay, Myanmar, said by telephone. “It was for the N.L.D. and the people who want to amend and replace the 2008 Constitution and support the peace process.”

Rohingya Face ‘Campaign of Terror’ in Myanmar, U.N. Finds

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By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE FEB. 3, 2017

A refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, near the Burmese border. Over 200 Rohingya villagers who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh gave harrowing testimony to United Nations investigators about the treatment they received. Allison Joyce/Getty Images

GENEVA — Members of Myanmar’s Army and the police have slaughtered hundreds of men, women and children, gang-raped women and girls, and forced as many as 90,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes, according to a United Nations report released on Friday.

The report, the world body’s first official account of a four-month government crackdown on ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar, said the actions of members of the army and the police “very likely” were crimes against humanity.

“The gravity and scale of these allegations begs the robust reaction of the international community,” said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, whose office released the 50-page report.

Jim Mattis Says U.S. Is ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ With Japan

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By MICHAEL R. GORDON and MOTOKO RICH FEB. 3, 2017

The American defense secretary, Jim Mattis, left; Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, second right; and the Japanese defense minister, Tomomi Inada, right, in Tokyo on Friday. Pool photo by Eugene Hoshiko

TOKYO — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis assured Japan’s prime minister on Friday that the United States would stand by its mutual defense treaty with the country, despite statements by President Trump during last year’s campaign that suggested he might pull back from American security commitments in Asia.

“I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people,” Mr. Mattis said at the start of a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Travel Ban Drives Wedge Between Iraqi Soldiers and Americans

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By DAVID ZUCCHINO FEB. 3, 2017

Iraqi soldiers in Mosul. “This decision by Trump blows up our liberation efforts of cooperation and coordination with American forces,” one officer said. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

BAGHDAD — Capt. Ahmed Adnan al-Musawe had survived another day battling Islamic State fighters in Mosul last weekend when he heard startling news: The new American president had temporarily barred Iraqis from entering the United States and wanted tougher vetting.

Captain Musawe, who commands an infantry unit of the Iraqi Army’s elite counterterrorism force, considers himself already fully vetted: He has been trained by American officers in Iraq and in Jordan. And backed by American advisers, he has fought the Islamic State in three Iraqi cities, including three months of brutal street combat in Mosul.

“If America doesn’t want Iraqis because we are all terrorists, then America should send its sons back to Iraq to fight the terrorists themselves,” Captain Musawe told a New York Times reporter who was with him this week at his barricaded position inside Mosul.

President Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order has driven a wedge between many Iraqi soldiers and their American allies. Officers and enlisted men interviewed on the front lines in Mosul said they interpreted the order as an affront — not only to them but also to fellow soldiers who have died in the battle for Mosul.

North Korean Leader’s Top Enforcer Is Now the One Getting Purged

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By CHOE SANG-HUN FEB. 3, 2017

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, at an undisclosed location in January. The decision by Mr. Kim to purge his top enforcer highlights the turmoil that has engulfed the upper reaches of his regime. Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

SEOUL, South Korea — The chief of North Korea’s powerful secret police, long considered the right-hand man for the top leader, Kim Jong-un, has been dismissed on charges of corruption and abuse of power, the South Korean government said on Friday.

The firing of the chief, Gen. Kim Won-hong, as minister of state security highlights the turmoil that has engulfed the upper reaches of Mr. Kim’s government. The general is the latest in a series of high-ranking party and military officials Mr. Kim has fired, demoted or executed as he tried to consolidate his totalitarian power through what South Korean officials and North Korean defectors have called a “reign of terror.”

North Korea No. 2 threat to Beijing after U.S., Chinese military strategists say

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at what is believed to be the tip of a rocket warhead after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile at an unidentified location in this undated photo released in March. | REUTERS

Japan Times

Kyodo Jan 31, 2017

TAIPEI, KYODO – North Korea is seen as the No. 2 threat to China after the United States, according to a recent document written by strategists with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and seen by Kyodo News.

It shows that despite the two neighboring countries’ traditionally friendly diplomatic ties, North Korea is seen, from a military perspective, as a threat in view of its nuclear arms and missile programs.

The document, issued in May 2016, is a wartime exercise guideline for designed to prepare in the event of threats from hypothetical enemies.

In their analysis of the situation facing China, the strategists cite “five potential threats,” the foremost of them being the United States and its “rebalance” to Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea No. 2 threat to Beijing after U.S., Chinese military strategists say” →

Trump Tells South Korea That Alliance With U.S. Is ‘Ironclad’

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By CHOE SANG-HUN JAN. 30, 2017

Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting leader of South Korea, spoke by phone with President Trump from Seoul on Monday. The call followed North Korea’s warning that it could test an intercontinental ballistic missile “anytime.” Yonhap/European Pressphoto Agency

SEOUL, South Korea — President Trump assured South Korea’s acting president on Monday of the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defend the country, agreeing with Seoul to strengthen joint defense capabilities against North Korea.

Mr. Trump’s assurances came amid anxiety in South Korea over the future of the alliance with the United States. During his campaign, Mr. Trump cast some doubt on the United States’ defense and trade commitments, saying that South Korea was not paying enough to help keep 28,500 American troops in the country.

But speaking by phone to Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting president of South Korea, Mr. Trump said that the coming visit to South Korea by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reflected the close friendship of the two countries and the importance of their alliance. Mr. Mattis is scheduled to visit South Korea on Thursday on his first official trip abroad, which also includes a stop in Japan.

“President Trump reiterated our ironclad commitment to defend the R.O.K., including through the provision of extended deterrence, using the full range of military capabilities,” the White House said in a statement after Mr. Trump’s phone conversation with Mr. Hwang, using the initials for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Billionaire Is Reported Seized From Hong Kong Hotel and Taken Into China

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By MICHAEL FORSYTHE JAN. 31, 2017

Xiao Jianhua at a park in Beijing in an undated photograph. He has been missing since Friday. The New York Times

HONG KONG — A Chinese-born billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border, a person close to the businessman said on Tuesday.

The billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, who has been missing since Friday, is in police custody in China, where he apparently is safe, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. Mr. Xiao is a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan diplomatic passport, though he was born in China.

His removal from Hong Kong appears to contravene the “one country, two systems” rule that allows the former British colony to run its own affairs and bars the Chinese police from operating here.

Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh to Be Relocated to Remote Island

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By MAHER SATTARJAN. 31, 2017

The Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, this month. The United Nations has called the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group denied citizenship in Myanmar, the most persecuted minority in the world. Allison Joyce/Getty Images

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s government is moving forward with a plan to relocate Rohingya refugees staying in camps near the country’s largest tourist resort towns to a remote island that is underwater for much of the year.

A cabinet order on Thursday directed officials to have the refugees transferred to Thengar Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal that is lashed by high tides year round and submerged during the monsoon season. The suggestion that they be moved to the largely uninhabitable marshland several hours by boat from the mainland drew criticism from around the world.

Dangerous Fruit: Mystery of Deadly Outbreaks in India Is Solved

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By ELLEN BARRYJAN. 31, 2017 New York Times

A man comforted his sick daughter at a hospital in Muzaffarpur, India, in 2013. Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times

NEW DELHI — Three years ago, Dr. Rajesh Yadav, an investigator with the India Epidemic Intelligence Service, moved to the city of Muzaffarpur, the site of one of the country’s most mysterious outbreaks. And he waited.

Every year in mid-May, as temperatures reached scorching heights, parents took children who had been healthy the night before to the hospital. The children awakened with a high-pitch cry in the early morning, many parents said.

Then the youths began having seizures and slipping into comas. In about 40 percent of cases, they died.

Every year in July, with the arrival of monsoon rains, the outbreak ended as suddenly as it began.

Beginning in 1995, investigations variously ascribed the phenomenon to heat stroke; to infections carried by rats, bats or sand flies; or to pesticides used in the region’s ubiquitous lychee orchards. But there were few signposts for investigators.

Continue reading on New York Times

Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea’s problem of elderly poverty

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“In order to survive, I just close my eyes and get it over with,” a 78-year-old sex worker tells the investigative programme Get Rea!

An elderly ‘Bacchus lady’ approached by the programme Get Rea! on the streets of Seoul.

SOUTH KOREA – It’s 10.30am and Madam Park (not her real name) is out prowling the streets of central Jongo district, Seoul, waiting to make a quick sale.

This 78-year-old targets grey-haired men, in practising the world’s oldest profession.

At Seoul’s heart, next to the busy business district, is a street where sex is for sale by women old enough to be grandmothers. These so-called ‘Bacchus ladies’ – named after a popular energy drink – are the subject of an investigation by Channel NewsAsia’s Get Rea! documentary on South Korea’s elderly poor, which premieres on Jan 31.

At her age, Mdm Park should be at home, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Instead, she stands on the streets for at least 6 hours a day, waiting for customers.

“In order to survive, I just close my eyes and get it over with,” she said in Korean. “In one day, if there is good luck, we meet three to four men and receive about 100,000 won (S$120).”

She does this so that she can afford the US$250 (S$350) worth of arthritis medicine a month. Her arthritis is so severe that she can barely walk.

When Channel NewsAsia approached her on the street, she said: “You came to play? To meet someone? The room fee is US$10. The fee for the woman is US$30.” Tiếp tục đọc “Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea’s problem of elderly poverty” →

Philippines says U.S. military to upgrade bases, defense deal remains intact

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Reuters Jan 28, 2017 Japan Times

MANILA – The United States will upgrade and build facilities on Philippine military bases this year, Manila’s defense minister said on Thursday, bolstering an alliance strained by President Rodrigo Duterte’s opposition to a U.S. troop presence.

The Pentagon gave the green light to start the work as part of an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a 2014 pact that Duterte has threatened to scrap during barrages of hostility towards the former colonial power.

“EDCA is still on,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a news conference. Tiếp tục đọc “Philippines says U.S. military to upgrade bases, defense deal remains intact” →