Global Voices » Vietnam

Southeast Asia: ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection Website

Mong Palatino — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:33:49 +0000

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations committee on consumer protection has launched a website to inform consumers in the region regarding banned or recalled products.

Vietnam: State of E-Commerce

Mong Palatino — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:06:20 +0000

Chip 2.0 writes about the slow development of e-commerce in Vietnam

Vietnam: Restrictive New Internet Policy

Mong Palatino — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:35:19 +0000

Duy Hoang, Angelina Huynh, and Trinh Nguyen summarize Vietnam's new internet policy which is expected to be announced by the government next month. The authors warned that the policy will further expand web censorship in the country

Vietnam: Agent Orange Victim and his Music

Mong Palatino — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:41:24 +0000

Meet Thanh Tung, a talented player of dan bau which is a traditional monochord instrument in Vietnam. Tung is also an Agent Orange victim who lost his eyesight at the age of twelve.

Overview of Buddhism in Vietnam

Mong Palatino — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:27:21 +0000

tomosaigon provides a brief introduction of the various Buddhist sects in Vietnam.

Vietnam: Videos About Hanoi

Mong Palatino — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:06:55 +0000

Travelfish recommends several YouTube videos about Hanoi, Vietnam. The list includes videos about Hanoi tourism, music, and food

Southeast Asia Digital Library

Mong Palatino — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:24:20 +0000

The Southeast Asia Digital Library provides educators and students with materials published in Southeast Asia. The online library contains digital facsimiles of books and manuscripts, as well as multimedia materials and searchable indexes of additional Southeast Asian resources.

Southeast Asia: Internet Freedom Rating

Mong Palatino — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:50:40 +0000

Aim Sinpeng discusses the study made by OpenNet Initiative about the state of internet freedom or unfreedom in several Southeast Asian countries. ‘Partly Free' countries include Malaysia and Indonesia while ‘Not Free' countries include Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam

Vietnam: Land Rights Violations

Mong Palatino — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:01:25 +0000

Adam Bray writes about the struggle of Vietnamese villagers for their land rights. He accuses the government of secretly demolishing homes and forcibly evicting religious and ethnic minorities in the rural provinces of Quang Ngai, Kon Tum, and Quang Nam.

Southeast Asia: Climate Change and Smallholder Farmers

Mong Palatino — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:56:16 +0000

The World Agroforestry Centre has released a study on the climate change adaptation options for small farmers in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam's “Bad Education Stories” of 2011

Mong Palatino — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:57:59 +0000

VietNamNet Bridge posts an article about the “bad stories in the education sector in 2011.” Some of the bad stories include cases of corporal punishment, school bullying, and low performance of schools.

What Makes Vietnamese Coffee Unique?

Mong Palatino — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:38:30 +0000

Nathan Beyerlein writes about the coffee culture in Vietnam and learns the difference between Vietnamese coffee from its Western counterparts.

Vietnam: Database of Political Prisoners

Mong Palatino — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:28:38 +0000

Vietnam Reform Party publishes Voices of Conscience, a document containing summaries of individuals in prison for political charges in Vietnam.

Vietnam: 2012 Predictions

Mong Palatino — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:04:54 +0000

Adam Bray lists his predictions for Vietnam's economy, politics, tourism, and environment sectors.

Southeast Asia in 2011: A Year of Protest

Mong Palatino — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:28:37 +0000

The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street are localized protests that still made a tremendous impact in the world in 2011. They were organized in response to place-specific issues, but their appeal and influence were immediately global. In Southeast Asia, Global Voices was able to feature several protest movements in 2011 that echoed the radical politics of Arab Spring and Occupy.

Malaysia’s Bersih (Clean) was the most outstanding protest event of 2011 in the region. The event, which was initially organized to ask for very sensible and doable electoral reforms (e.g. cleaning up of the electoral roll and the use of indelible ink), in the end became a pro-democracy action because of the massive participation of the civilian population in the streets – and the violent reaction of the state.

And like the tech-savvy Arab protesters, the Bersih marchers maximized social media to broaden the movement’s appeal among the apolitical segments of the local internet community.

Perhaps to prevent another Bersih, the Malaysian Parliament has approved the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill which gives police and government authorities broad powers to control and even ban street assemblies and protests. Rallies were also organized to oppose the bill

Bersih rally from the FB page of Yuvanesh Prabakaran

Next to Bersih were the various Occupy protests in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. They didn’t succeed in sustaining big crowds, (Singapore’s Occupy flopped) but through their militant and creative actions, they were able to highlight the worsening poverty in their societies.

The Occupy protests in the Philippines were joined by students and other young people who used planking as a unique and funny way of expressing their anger over the state budget cuts on education and other social services. Early this month, the Occupy-like campout protests of students near the presidential palace were violently dispersed by the police.

Mass planking protest. Photo from participant

Perhaps the most underrated protest of the year was the rally of Cambodian villagers who dressed up like the Na'vi tribe from the 2009 science fiction film Avatar in opposition to the government’s plan to convert the Prey Lang forest into plantations and mines. Prey Lang is the largest remaining primary lowland dry evergreen forest in the region.

Prey Lang Avatar

Environmental protests actually intensified this year, and one of them succeeded in forcing Myanmar's government to cancel its hydroelectric dam project on the Irrawaddy River.

Not all those who fight for land rights, even through non-violent means, are able to freely express and organize their campaigns – a fact underscored by the experience of seven activists in Vietnam who were arrested, charged, and found guilty of overthrowing the government.

The protesters whose actions perhaps most symbolized the deep hatred and frustration of the poor against an oppressive system were Pham Thanh Son of Vietnam and Sondang Hutagalung of Indonesia. Son burned himself early this year in front of Da Nang’s municipal office to protest the confiscation of his family’s property by local authorities, while Sondang set his body on fire just a few weeks ago in front of the presidential palace to condemn the anti-poor policies of the government.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/ngochoang.qb.vn

There were no London-like urban riots in Southeast Asia this year, but the great floods that destroyed rice fields and food crops in almost all countries of the region could lead to food and rice protests next year. Delays in the rehabilitation of flooded communities could also ignite more anger and political backlash. During the Thailand flooding, residents removed flood barriers and defied authorities in protest to what they perceived as unfair government policy to ‘save’ central Bangkok from flooding at the expense of nearby towns.

Human rights advocates decried the continuing crackdown of democracy protests in West Papua and the various activities of their supporters in Indonesia.

We also recognize the SlutWalk protest in Singapore for its brave articulation of equality and sexual freedom through a rare protest assembly in the city.

Protest hashtags of the year: #bersih, #bersih2, #bersihstories, #occupydataran, #campoutph, #walk4freedom, #sawangsawa