A high-profile feature of current Vietnamese politics is the anti-corruption drive led by Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). As the anti-graft campaign enters its fifth year, Trong has announced that 10 more grand corruption cases will be put to trial in 2020. Tiếp tục đọc “Continuing Vietnam’s anti-graft campaign beyond Nguyen Phu Trong”→
Rằm tháng Giêng mọi năm, thôn Hòa Liễu đều tổ chức Lễ hội Minh thề tưng bừng suốt 3 ngày đêm tại Miếu thờ Thành hoàng bản thổ. Còn Rằm năm nay, chúng tôi về vùng nông thôn nổi tiếng này vẫn thấy cờ hoa giăng mắc, nhưng cột đá thề vắng hoe trong nỗi buồn của Hội đồng bô lão.
While China can mobilize a huge national response to the outbreak, its response to the crisis is also a lesson in how the country’s political weak points can carry grave consequences for world health.
Health care workers at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital on Saturday.Credit…Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Image
Published Jan. 25, 2020Updated Jan. 26, 2020, 12:45 a.m. ET
It was the initial news reports that first suggested China’s political system might be getting in the way of its ability to confront the coronavirus outbreak.
While often seen as an engine of the global economy, in terms of political integrity and governance, the region performs only marginally better than the global average. Many countries see economic openness as a way forward, however, governments across the region, from China to Cambodia to Vietnam, continue to restrict participation in public affairs, silence dissenting voices and keep decision-making out of public scrutini
A regional average of 45, after many consecutive years of an average score of 44, illustrates general stagnation across the Asia Pacific. Despite the presence of high performers like New Zealand (87), Singapore (85), Australia (77), Hong Kong (76) and Japan (73), the Asia Pacific region hasn’t witnessed substantial progress in anti-corruption efforts or results. In addition, low performers like Afghanistan (16), North Korea (17) and Cambodia (20) continue to highlight serious challenges in the region.
The gloomy aftermath of a fatal clash between police and civilians in a Hanoi village is casting a pall over locals’ Tet preparations.
Ten days after resentment over a land dispute erupted into a deadly clash that left three policemen and a civilian dead in Dong Tam Commune, My Duc District, villagers are wearily and warily returning to life as usual.
Offices in Vietnam are closed on weekends, but the committee’s office as well as the commune’s police station were open Sunday.
On Friday, barriers that had cordoned off and restricted entry to the commune were taken down, but the pall of gloom over locals is evident.
The deadly clash between protesters and law enforcement officers took place a week after some units of the Ministry of National Defense, in collaboration with local authorities, began building a fence for the Mieu Mon Military Airport at Hoanh Village in Dong Tam.
The encounter was the first time in decades that violence over a land dispute had claimed the lives of both law enforcers and civilians.
The incident disrupted normal life and preparations for the Lunar New Year, Tet, as they have begun much later than usual.
The country will enjoy a seven-day holiday for the Tet festival this year, staring January 23.
Work on the fence for the Mieu Mon Military Airport has been completed. The steel wire fence carries no trespassing signs in Vietnamese and English.
As life returns to normal, strangers to the commune are still eyed with some suspicion by the locals.
Vietnam has a population of 96 million, with more than 60 million people having their presence on the social media platform Facebook [File: Luong Thai Linh/EPA]
reuters.com
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A deadly land dispute in Vietnam has led to a crackdown on social media posts, a sign of growing heavy-handedness by authorities as rising demand for land spurs more conflicts across the country, analysts and human rights activists said.
Four people were killed and dozens arrested last week in the northern village of Dong Tam near the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, as a long-running land dispute flared after a dawn raid by police.
Authorities said villagers attacked the troops with hand grenades, petrol bombs and knives, and were responsible for the deaths of the three policemen and a village leader.
Author: David Brown, California, East Asia ForumVietnamese politics has reverted to its customary opacity. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his intimates in the Communist Party’s secretariat remain intent on party renewal, a wholly internal affair. Going into 2019, Trong’s tightening leash on the sprawling Ministry of Public Security and his crusades against corruption and for the elevation of the ‘model cadre’ had secured for him an iron grip on the 2021 succession scenario. Going into 2020, things are a little different. Tiếp tục đọc “Who will lead Vietnam in 2021?”→
The Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption held its 17th session on January 15 under the chair of Party General Secretary, President and head of the committee Nguyen Phu Trong, to look back at its work in 2019 and line out key tasks for 2020.
Party General Secretary, President Nguyen Phu Trong chairs the 17th session of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption on January 15. (Photo: VNA)
Former information minister Nguyen Bac Son was accused of receiving $3m in bribes to help a deal with a mobile company.
The Hanoi court sentenced Nguyen Bac Son to life in prison in a case that also saw another minister and a dozen executives receive lengthy prison terms [Nguyen Van Diep/VNA via AP]
A court in Vietnam on Saturday sentenced a former information minister to life in prison after finding him guilty of taking $3m in bribes in connection with a controversial deal at state telecoms firm MobiFone.
Tran Van Minh (L) and Van Huu Chien, former chairmen of the People’s Committee in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, are seen in this collage of photos taken on January 13, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre
Two former chairmen of the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang have been handed jail terms totaling 29 years for serious violations in the management of state-owned assets and land.
The Hanoitimes – President Nguyen Phu Trong said that settling big corruption cases indicated the Part and State’s efforts in anti-corruption which is good for economic development.
Vietnam has continued to ramp up the fight against corruption and more progress has been made in 2019 with more high-ranking officials facing severe penalties.
CPV chief, State President Nguyen Phu Trong steers the fight against corruption
Since the beginning of the year, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and State President Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed no exceptions or “forbidden zone” in corruption crackdown no matter the position which the wrongdoer holds. Trong has made this stance clear several times and the latest was at a meeting by the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption in January. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam’s graft crackdown in 2019: No exceptions”→
![Vietnam has a population of 96 million, with more than 60 million people having their presence on the social media platform Facebook [File: Luong Thai Linh/EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2020/1/17/767c48a89b4547eebf8375c9104d523f_18.jpg "Vietnam's battalions of 'cyber-armies' silencing online dissent")
Party General Secretary, President Nguyen Phu Trong chairs the 17th session of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption on January 15. (Photo: VNA)![The Hanoi court sentenced Nguyen Bac Son to life in prison in a case that also saw another minister and a dozen executives receive lengthy prison terms [Nguyen Van Diep/VNA via AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/12/28/79a06003aac948899dfd71b8d23ed131_18.jpg "Vietnam court sentences ex-minister to life in prison for fraud")
