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.

Philippines filed diplomatic protest over South China Sea buildup: Minister

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 16 Jan 2017 20:29
  • Updated 16 Jan 2017 20:48

FILE PHOTO – An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, May 11, 2015. REUTERS/Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool/File Photo

MANILA: The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest with China, its foreign minister said on Monday, over Beijing’s installation last year of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on its manmade islands in the disputed South China Sea.

The protest note was sent to the Chinese embassy in December, after confirmation of a report from the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies about a weapons buildup on seven artificial islands in the Spratlys. Tiếp tục đọc “Philippines filed diplomatic protest over South China Sea buildup: Minister” →

Japan pledges boats to Vietnam as China dispute simmers

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 16 Jan 2017 23:40

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kham

HANOI: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday promised Vietnam six new patrol boats during a visit to the Southeast Asian country, which is locked in a dispute with China over the busy South China Sea.

Abe’s stop in Vietnam completes a tour through an arc of a region where Japan stakes a leadership claim in the face of China’s growing dominance and uncertainty over what policy change Donald Trump will bring as U.S. president. Tiếp tục đọc “Japan pledges boats to Vietnam as China dispute simmers” →

John Brennan: Trump’s ‘Nazi Germany’ tweet to US agencies was ‘outrageous’

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The outgoing CIA director admonished the president-elect for ‘talking and tweeting’ without fully understanding Russia’s threat to national security

john brennan cia
John Brennan: ‘There is no basis for Mr Trump to point fingers at the intelligence community for leaking information that was already publicly available.’ Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Staff and agencies.  The Guardian

Sunday 15 January 2017 15.52 EST First published on Sunday 15 January 2017 15.48 EST

Departing CIA director John Brennan criticized Donald Trump on Sunday for his approach to national security, saying the president-elect should not be carelessly “talking and tweeting” without understanding Russia’s threat to the US. Tiếp tục đọc “John Brennan: Trump’s ‘Nazi Germany’ tweet to US agencies was ‘outrageous’” →

China voices economic fears about Donald Trump presidency

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Beijing’s concerns about a further slowdown in trade come as political uncertainty and social tensions spread anxiety about global economy

Trucks line up at a container port in Qingdao, east China.
Trucks line up at a container port in Qingdao, east China. Photograph: AP

The Guardian

Friday 13 January 2017 13.19 EST Last modified on Friday 13 January 2017 17.17 EST

China suffered a sharp drop in exports last year and there are fears its trading position will weaken further in 2017 with repercussions for the global economy if Donald Trump’s protectionist policies prompt a trade war.

A week before the billionaire’s inauguration as US president, Chinese authorities expressed their concern that Trump would follow through on pledges to impose high tariffs on imports from China and to brand the country a currency manipulator. The president-elect has long maintained that China has been devaluing its currency in order to make its exports more competitive on overseas markets. Tiếp tục đọc “China voices economic fears about Donald Trump presidency” →

Silk Road route back in business as China train rolls into London

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After 16 days and 7,456 miles, the locomotive’s arrival heralds the dawn of a new commercial era

East Wind freight train
The East Wind freight train prepares for its journey at Yiwu station in Zhejiang province of China. Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

The Guardian

Saturday 14 January 2017 15.45 EST Last modified on Saturday 14 January 2017 17.01 EST

When the East Wind locomotive rumbles into east London this week, it will be at the head of 34 carriages full of socks, bags and wallets for London’s tourist souvenir shops, as well as the dust and grime accumulated through eight countries and 7,456 miles.

The train will be the first to make the 16-day journey from Yiwu in west China to Britain, reviving the ancient trading Silk Road route and shunting in a new era of UK-China relations.

Due to arrive on Wednesday, the train will have passed through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before crossing under the Channel and arriving in the east end of London at Barking rail freight terminal.
Tiếp tục đọc “Silk Road route back in business as China train rolls into London” →

Beijing says ‘one-China’ policy can’t be bargaining chip after Trump calls principle negotiable

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A demonstrator holds a sign in support of China during Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover after her visit to Latin America, in Burlingame, California, on Saturday. | REUTERS

Japan  Times

by

Staff Writer Jan 15, 2017

China has pushed back against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestions that the “one-China” policy on Taiwan is negotiable, with the Foreign Ministry in Beijing urging the incoming administration to “recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Saturday called the one-China principle “nonnegotiable” and “the political foundation” of China-U.S. relations. Tiếp tục đọc “Beijing says ‘one-China’ policy can’t be bargaining chip after Trump calls principle negotiable” →

Critics attacked, history revised as China nationalism rises

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A picture of communist China’s late founder, Mao Zedong, is seen on top of car as people gather to celebrate the 123rd anniversary of his birth on Dec. 26 in Shaoshan, China. | REUTERS
by

Jan 15, 2017

BEIJING – Writer Lu Yong had merely wanted to show support for a professor who had taken flak online for criticizing Mao Zedong, the founder of the communist state who died more than four decades ago.

Yet minutes after raising a sign to defend Deng Xiangchao’s right to free speech, Lu found himself surrounded by a group of Mao supporters who grappled at his face. Other companions were punched and kicked. Tiếp tục đọc “Critics attacked, history revised as China nationalism rises” →

Former U.N. chief Ban throws weight behind THAAD deployment

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Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waves upon his arrival at Seoul Railway Station in the South Korean capital on Thursday. | AP  

/

by

Staff Writer, Jan 15, 2017

Former United Nations chief and presumptive South Korean presidential candidate Ban Ki-moon has backed the deployment later this year of a U.S. anti-missile system to the country amid North Korea’s progress in its nuclear and missile programs.

“Given the reality of the Korean Peninsula being in an almost quasi-war situation, it is right for the government to take such a measure,” Ban was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying during a trip to the South Korean Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul. “I understand that it is to be deployed for defensive purposes as North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and accumulate ballistic missile technology,” he said. Tiếp tục đọc “Former U.N. chief Ban throws weight behind THAAD deployment” →

China Orders Registration of App Stores

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In a notice published on its website, the Cyberspace Administration of China said late Friday that its offices across China should ensure that records are kept on the country’s many app stores, starting Monday.

Tiếp tục đọc “China Orders Registration of App Stores” →

China, Russia take aim at U.S. anti-missile system planned for deployment in South Korea

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by Jan 13, 2017

China and Russia have agreed to take unspecified “countermeasures” in response to the planned U.S. deployment of an anti-missile system to South Korea — a move that came as Defense Minister Tomomi Inada inspected a version of the system on the U.S. territory of Guam on Friday.

The countermeasures in response to the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system will be “aimed at safeguarding interests of China and Russia and the strategic balance in the region,” China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting a statement released after a meeting of Russian and Chinese security officials. Tiếp tục đọc “China, Russia take aim at U.S. anti-missile system planned for deployment in South Korea” →

North Korea’s ICBM not yet able to reach the U.S. mainland, South Korea says

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Kyodo, Japan Times Jan 12, 2017

SEOUL – North Korea has not yet acquired the technology of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that is capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said Wednesday.

In a briefing about the 2016 South Korean Defense White Paper, which was also released Wednesday, the official said South Korea has removed the ministry’s previous assessment included in the 2014 white paper that North Korea is believed to possess the capability of threatening the U.S. mainland with its missiles.

“North Korea has not yet completed an ICBM and has not yet reached the stage that can earn credibility,” the official said.

The official added that North Korea is trying to perfect the flight capability of its submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

The biennial report also said North Korea has about 50 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium, having obtained about 10 kg last year through reprocessing of nuclear materials.

The 2014 defense white paper said North Korea is estimated to have about 40 kg of such plutonium.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said Sunday that Pyongyang could carry out an ICBM test at any time and location determined by its leadership.

In response, the United States said it would shoot down any missiles that threaten its territory or that of its allies.

Ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year address that his country has entered the final stage of preparing to test-launch the long-range missile.

Kim’s regime conducted two nuclear tests and test-launched more than 20 ballistic missiles last year in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

As for relations with Japan, the latest South Korean defense white paper maintained the position that the South will continue to make a resolute and stern response to Japan’s territorial claim over South Korea-controlled islets of Dokdo in the Sea of Japan. The islets are known as Takeshima in Japan.

Aside from the territorial dispute, South Korea will continue to cooperate with Japan in coping with North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the paper said.

U.S. sanctions North Korean officials for rights abuses

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AFP-JIJI Japan Times Jan 12, 2017

WASHINGTON – US authorities on Wednesday announced sanctions against North Korean government agencies and senior officials — among them leader Kim Jong Un’s sister — in response to Pyongyang’s “serious” human rights abuses and censorship activities.

The latest action, which sees another seven individuals added to America’s growing list of sanctioned North Koreans, targets security and prison officials accused of rights abuses.

Those blacklisted include Kim Won Hong, who heads the Ministry of State Security (MSS). Tiếp tục đọc “U.S. sanctions North Korean officials for rights abuses” →

Rex Tillerson’s South China Sea Remarks Foreshadow Possible Foreign Policy Crisis

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By MICHAEL FORSYTHEJAN. 12, 2017

Rex W. Tillerson, the nominee for secretary of state, told senators on Wednesday that China’s actions in the South China Sea were “akin to Russia’s taking of Crimea.” Doug Mills/The New York Times

HONG KONG — Rex W. Tillerson’s call for China to be denied access to its artificial islands in the South China Sea, made Wednesday during his confirmation hearing for secretary of state, set the stage for a possible crisis between the world’s two biggest economies should his comments become official American policy.

Mr. Tillerson told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that China’s multibillion-dollar island-building campaign in the oil-and-gas rich sea was illegal and “akin to Russia’s taking of Crimea.”

“We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops,” Mr. Tillerson told the senators. “And second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.”

Should those words be translated into action after Donald J. Trump assumes the presidency on Jan. 20, it would be a remarkable change in the American approach to Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea, which is transforming the area into what one Washington think tank said would by 2030 become “virtually a Chinese lake.” China asserts sovereignty over most of the South China Sea despite competing claims by countries including Vietnam and the Philippines and an international ruling rejecting most of Beijing’s assertions.

Taiwan Works to Keep Its Central America Friends (Among Its Few)

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By ELISABETH MALKINJAN. 13, 2017

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan and President Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras at the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, on Monday. Taiwan has diplomatic relations with only 20 countries, along with the Vatican; the largest cluster of those is in Latin America and the Caribbean. Fernando Antonio/Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan has been hopscotching across Central America this week, attending the inauguration of Nicaragua’s president, Daniel Ortega, touring Guatemala’s colonial city of Antigua and visiting the shrine of Honduras’s patron saint.

From a global perspective, it is the sort of tour that looks like a diplomatic asterisk. But there is nothing trivial about it for Ms. Tsai, who is in Central America to shore up relationships as she faces increasing pressure from China.

Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province, has diplomatic relations with only 20 countries, along with the Vatican; the largest cluster of those is in Latin America and the Caribbean. These relationships, complete with embassies, trade agreements and foreign aid, strengthen Taiwan’s effective sovereignty.

That is particularly important now for Taiwan, which fears becoming a casualty as President-elect Donald J. Trump threatens to roil the China-America relationship. Mr. Trump accepted a congratulatory phone call from Ms. Tsai after his election, a break from protocol that prompted a series of angry responses from China.