HomeInh-2014-07

UN OHCHR: Press Statement on the visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

31.07.2014 (UN OHCHR) - In my capacity as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, I was invited by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to conduct a country visit from 21 to 31 July 2014. ...

The planned visits to An Giang, Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces were unfortunately interrupted from 28 to 30 July. I received credible information that some individuals whom I wanted to meet with had been either under heavy surveillance, warned, intimidated, harassed or prevented from travelling by the police. ...

Violations de la liberté religieuse au Vietnam

31.07.2014 (Le Figaro) - Un envoyé de l'ONU a accusé aujourd'hui le Vietnam de "graves violations" de la liberté religieuse, malgré un assouplissement du strict contrôle du régime communiste dans le domaine religieux. Le rapporteur spécial de l'ONU sur la liberté de religion, Heiner Bielefeldt, a regretté que sa visite de 10 jours ait été "malheureusement" perturbée par la police et des agents de sécurité qui l'ont "étroitement surveillé", ce qui l'a empêché de parler librement à certaines personnes. "Il existe des violations graves de la liberté religieuse dans ce pays", a-t-il déclaré, notant qu'il n'avait toutefois pas pu faire un examen exhaustif des cas individuels. ...

UN official: Vietnam violates religious freedom

31.07.2014 (Yahoo News) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A U.N. official who went to Vietnam to assess religious freedom there said Thursday that security agents closely monitored his visit and people he wanted to meet were harassed and intimidated.

Heiner Bielefeldt, the U.N. special rapporteur, told journalists he concluded that serious violations of religious freedom existed, while noting some improvements. ...

U.N. religion expert concerned over 'interrupted' Vietnam visit

31.07.2014 By Martin Petty, HANOI (Reuters) - A U.N. expert expressed worry on Thursday over "serious violations" of religious freedom in Vietnam following a fact-finding mission he said was interrupted by surveillance, harassment and intimidation.  ...

India Drops Sea Claim to Seek Offshore Oil in China Contrast

31.07.2014 By Andrew MacAskill and Arun Devnath (Bloomberg News) - India took a step toward tighter ties with Bangladesh this month in surrendering its four-decade claim to a swathe of the Bay of Bengal about the size of Lake Ontario, opting to heed a United Nations-backed ruling.  ...

Malaria: Resistente Erreger breiten sich in Südostasien aus

31.07.2014 (Spiegel Online) - Mehr als 200 Millionen Menschen erkranken pro Jahr an Malaria. Gegen die Krankheit gibt es wirksame Medikamente. Doch in Südostasien verbreiten sich zunehmend Erreger, die auf die wichtigsten Mittel nicht mehr ansprechen. ...

Alarm over malaria in Southeast Asia: drug-resistant parasites found

31.07.2014 (AsiaNews) - Bangkok - A new form of drug-resistant malaria is spreading in Southeast Asia and has reached the border between Cambodia and Thailand. This was revealed by a team of British researchers in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and warns of the need for "radical action" to prevent further transmission of these parasites. ...

Alarma malaria en el sudeste de Asia: se encontraron parásitos resistentes a los remedios

31.07.2014 (AsiaNews) - Bangkok - Una nueva forma de malaria resistente a los fármacos se está difundiendo en el sudeste de Asia, principalmente en la frontera entre Camboya y Tailandia. Lo revela un equipo de investigadores ingleses en un estudio publicado en el New England Journal og Medicine, y advierte que es necesario hacer "una acción radical" para prevenir ulteriores transmisiones de estos parásitos. ...

Vietnam Blocks Activists From Attending Foreign Media Seminar

30.07.2014 (RFA) - Authorities in Vietnam on Wednesday prevented several dissident bloggers and activists from attending a social media conference held at the Australian Embassy in the capital Hanoi, according to a former prisoner who was among those blocked. ...

'Escape' China, Viet communists urge

30.07.2014 dpa (Bangkok Post) - HANOI — A former ambassador to Beijing was among 60 prominent members of Vietnam's Communist Party urging the country's leaders to "escape" reliance on China through political and economic reforms. ...

China Just Weaponized its Fishermen

30.07.2014 By Joshua Philipp (Epoch Time) - China has a new navy. It consists of hordes of fishermen whose boats were fitted with military-grade satellite navigation systems that link with the Chinese coastguard. ...

Japan, India Link Over Aggressive China Policies

30.07.2014 Written by Harsh V. Pant (Asia Sentinel) - Leading Asian nations unite to face China challenge Asia’s leading nations have been slowly coming together to face the challenge of an assertive China. To the chagrin of Beijing, US, Indian and Japanese naval vessels gathered for a joint exercise in the Pacific ostensibly against piracy and terrorism. ...

Vietnam’s one and only trade union turns 85

29.07.2014 By Joe Buckley (Asian Correspondent) - July 28, 1929 is an important date in Vietnamese history – although you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Today, the organisation is called the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), and is Vietnam’s only legal trade union. On Monday this week, it turned 85. What is a shame, though, is that not many people have much awareness of what the union does on a day-to-day level. ...

Vietnam’s Communists Urged to Sue China

29.07.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Dozens of prominent members of Vietnam's Communist Party (VCP), voicing concerns over China’s actions in the South China Sea, are calling on their leaders to file a legal case against Beijing with the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. ...

Europe sees rule of law as key in South China Sea disputes

29.07.2014 Cliff Venzon, Nikkei staff writer (Nikkei Asia Review) MANILA -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday prodded countries with competing territorial claims in the South China Sea to resolve their disputes peacefully through the rule of law. ...

Vietnam buckles under Chinese pressure

29.07.2014 By Zachary Abuza (Asia Times) - Since China's July 16 withdrawal of its HYSY-981 oil exploration rig from waters claimed by Vietnam, tensions in the South China Sea have momentarily defused. But Beijing's months-long placement of the rig roughly 130 nautical miles from Vietnam's coast presented the most divisive threat in years to Hanoi's Communist Party leadership ...

China keeps fishing fleet connected in disputed waters

28.07.2014 Reuters (The Japan Times) - TANMEN, CHINA – On China’s southern Hainan island, a fishing boat captain shows a Reuters reporter around his aging vessel. He has one high-tech piece of kit, however: a satellite navigation system that gives him a direct link to the Chinese coast guard should he run into bad weather or a Philippine or Vietnamese patrol ship when he’s fishing in the disputed South China Sea. ...

Battered and broke, Vietnam fishermen bear brunt of China row

28.07.2014 By Nguyen Phuong Linh (Yahoo News India) – LY SON ISLAND Vietnam (Reuters) - Vietnamese fisherman Dang Van Hoanh sits on the deck of a creaky ferry, nursing a broken leg wrapped in grubby bandages and splinted with wood. ... 

Papst ernennt neuen Bischof für Vietnam

26.07.2014 (Katholisch.de) Rom - Der Vatikan hat wieder eine Bischofsernennung in Vietnam vornehmen können. Pierre Nguyen Van Kham (61), bislang Weihbischof in Ho Chi Minh-Stadt (früher Saigon), wurde am Samstag, 26. Juli, vom Papst zum neuen Bischof von My Tho bestimmt.  ...

Hanoi konnte warten, Amerika nicht

26.07.2014 Von Michael Stürmer (Die Welt) - Die Kunst der Reportage: Uwe Siemon-Netto erinnert sich an seine Zeit als Reporter in Vietnam. Man muss es kalten Blutes sagen: Südvietnam wird wahrscheinlich nicht überleben." – So formulierte es Präsident Richard Nixon im Gespräch mit seinem Sicherheitsberater Henry Kissinger. Es war August 1972, und Nixon sah den Rückzug des amerikanischen Landungskorps und den Zusammenbruch des Südens als unausweichlich an. Kissinger stimmte zu: "Wir müssen aber eine Formel finden, die den Laden noch auf ein oder zwei Jahre zusammenhält.  ...

Tourism Version of a new cold war between China and Vietnam shows in Ho Chi Minh City

26.07.2014 By James Lee (eTurboNews) - Vietnam is showing across its museums a special poster exhibition on the Vietnamese islands claimed by China in the South China Sea – renamed the East Sea by the Vietnamese. ...

Vietnam Puts Dissidents Under House Arrest Amid UN Envoy's Visit

25.07.2014 (VOA) - Vietnam's authoritarian government on Friday placed an unknown number of dissidents in its largest city under virtual house arrest or closely monitored their movements in an apparent attempt to prevent them from meeting with a visiting U.N. envoy on human rights, dissidents said.

Need for security network growing in Asia

25.07.2014 (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- When a flotilla of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet called at the Vietnamese naval base at Cam Ranh in June, it was a clear indication that Vietnam was courting Russia in a bid to counter China's growing clout. ...

Finland Detains Vietnamese Missile Parts. Shipment of Military Hardware Was Bound For Ukraine

25.07.2014 By Juhana Rossi, Nguyen Anh Thu and Robert Wall (The Wall Street Journal) - HELSINKI—Finland has detained a shipment of Vietnamese-owned air-to-air missile parts bound for Ukraine after raising concerns the consignment of military hardware violated arms-export regulations. ...

Controversial Chinese Deep-Water Rig Drifts Into Calmer Seas

25.07.2014 (The Wall Street Journal) - A Chinese deep-water oil rig at the center of one of the tensest maritime standoffs between China and Vietnam in recent memory has finally moved closer to home. ...

Feces, poison found on Vietnam shishamo fish

25.07.2014 Jiji Press (The Japan News) - A shipment of frozen shishamo, a type of smelt, from Vietnam has been found to contain rat poison and feces, Japanese officials said Thursday. The products were made by Vietnamese seafood processor Rich Beauty Food Co. and imported through an agent by Imura Industry Co. ...

Australia: Press Vietnam to Respect Rights

Bilateral Dialogue Planned for July 28 in Hanoi

24.07.2014 (HRW) - (Sydney) – Australia should use the upcoming Australia-Vietnam human rights dialogue to press the Vietnamese government to make concrete and measurable improvements in its abysmal human rights record. These include promptly releasing all political prisoners and ending restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion.  ...

Media Censorship in Vietnam

24.07.2014 Written by Pham Doan Trang (Asia Sentinel) - Despite suppression by extrajudicial punishment, social media continue to grow Although The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications says media agencies are steadily increasing, the hidden fact is that all of these media outlets are controlled by the government in various forms. But they are fighting a losing battle against hundreds of people who are using social media to defy authority.  ...

China’s SOEs test the waters in the South China Sea

24.07.2014 Authors: Megan Bowman, George Gilligan and Justin O’Brien, UNSW (East Asia Forum) - In early May, the Chinese HYSY-981 oil rig was moved into waters near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The oil rig is owned by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and operated by its subsidiary China Oilfield Services Limited.  ...

Chinese railway project in Burma cancelled, official says

24.07.2014 (Intellasia) - Nay Pyi Taw – A planned rail project to give China access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar has been cancelled due to strong public objections and delays, a senior official said Tuesday. ...

US Senate panel approves Vietnam nuke agreement

23.07.2014 By Elaine M. Grossman (NTI) - A key Senate committee on Tuesday endorsed a U.S. nuclear trade pact with Vietnam, but constrained its length to 30 years and added new requirements for most such future pacts. The joint resolution, offered by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, passed in a bipartisan voice vote in an afternoon business meeting of the panel. ...

Vietnam in the Shadow of China

22.07.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc (Asia Sentinel) - The ongoing maritime dispute between China and Vietnam has served to reinforce and solidify distrust among Vietnamese. The Chinese oil rig at the heart of the maritime dispute between China and Vietnam is expected to depart soon from its contentious position near the Paracel Islands. China National Offshore Oil Corporation, which operates the oil rig, deployed HD-981 to disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam in May as part of a resource exploration mission. ...

UN religion expert meets Vietnam government Special rapporteur to address laws that limit freedom of belief

22.07.2014 Mike MacLachlan, London (UCANews) - The United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, is meeting Vietnamese government officials this week to draw up a report for the UN’s human rights council. Bielefeldt’s mandate during the trip, which takes place July 21-31, is to learn more about the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam ...

Vietnam blows hot and cold over intellectual property

22.07.2014 David Mann, Contributing writer (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- Here is a situation dripping with irony: Vietnam, where the government is often accused of turning a blind eye to all sorts of intellectual property infringement, is having a great deal of success abroad when it comes to protecting its own patents and trademarks. ...

China’s control over the South China Sea

21.07.2014 Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor (East Asia Forum) - China occupies the disputed Paracel Islands and says it has ‘historical claims’ to a large part of the South China Sea, including waters that are much closer to other nations, although these claims are yet to be put to international arbitration or resolved bilaterally. ...

Krisenstimmung in Hanoi

21.07.2014 Von Wilfried Arz (Eurasisches Magazin) - Im Streit um Erdölvorkommen im West-Pazifik spitzen sich die krisengeschüttelten Beziehungen zwischen China und Vietnam zu. Hinter den gewaltsamen Übergriffen wütender Demonstranten auf chinesische Fabriken verbirgt sich mehr: Vietnams Wirtschaftskrise, Unzufriedenheit mit der KP-Herrschaft in Hanoi und Forderungen nach politischen Reformen. ...

Taiwan's Formosa Plastics to receive $2.39 mln in Vietnam compensation

21.07.2014 (Reuters) - Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group said on Monday it will receive $2.39 million in compensation from the Vietnamese government and a Vietnamese insurance firm for damages incurred during anti-China protests in May. ...

'Mekong delta will be partly submerged'

21.07.2014 By Supalak Ganjanakhundee, Can Tho, Vietnam (The Nation) - BY THE END of this century, 20 per cent of Vietnam's business hub Ho Chi Minh City will be inundated and 39 per cent of the Mekong Delta will be submerged, according to a Vietnamese study. ...

Ukraine: Waffen aus Vietnam

20.07.2014 Von Andreas Beck (Contra-Magazin) - Wie jetzt bekannt wurde, hat der finnische Zolldienst schon vor rund drei Wochen am Flughafen Vantaa, der zur Hauptstadt Helsinki gehört, einen Container beschlagnahmt, der für die Ukraine bestimmt war. Das berichtete die finnische Zeitung „Helsingin Sanomat“. ...

Chinese tourists abandon Vietnam after oil rig row

20.07.2014 By Cat Barton (GMA News) - HANOI — For years Nguyen Huu Son has guided Chinese tourists around Vietnam's popular coastal city Danang, but a bitter maritime dispute between Hanoi and Beijing means he is now out of work. ...

Les touristes chinois abandonnent le Vietnam après des émeutes meurtrières

20.07.2014  (Libération) - Pendant des années, Nguyen Huu Son a accompagné les touristes chinois sur la côte vietnamienne, mais après la récente intensification d'une dispute maritime entre Pékin et Hanoï, le guide est pratiquement au chômage technique.  ...

Vietnamese still feel north, south divide

20.07.2014 By dpa (Bangkok Post) - HANOI - A man in a luminous yellow T-shirt bobs up and down alongside a group of women at 5am doing aerobics - a typical morning activity in Hanoi. At the same time in Ho Chi Minh City, another man is sprawled across a bed, fast asleep.  ...

2013 sees jump in death penalty, with China, Iran and Iraq in the lead

19.07.2014 (AsiaNews) - Rome - The number of executions worldwide increased last year despite a global trend toward capital punishment abolition. This is the findings of the 2014 report entitled "The death penalty in the world", compiled by the Italian organization Hands Off Cain and presented yesterday in Rome, Italy.  ...

En el año 2013 las ejecuciones: el verdugo trabaja más en China, Irán e Irak

19.07.2014 (AsiaNews) - Roma - El número de las ejecuciones en todo el mundo creció el año pasado, no obstante haya siempre un frente más amplio de naciones, movimientos y organizaciones activistas que luchan por la moratoria de la pena de muerte. ...

Vietnam-China tensions a boom for Japan

19.07.2014 Yasuhiro Goto, Nikkei senior staff writer (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- China's aggressive maritime advance into the South China Sea has emerged as one of the biggest risks to Asian security. ...

Vietnam Remembers Geneva Accords as Tensions With China Abate, for Now

18.07.2014 Marianne Brown (VOA) - Hundreds stood to sing Vietnam’s national anthem Friday morning during a ceremony in Hanoi to mark the peace agreement that brought an end to French colonial rule and partitioned the country. ...

Film in works about revival of elderly Japanese woman in Vietnam

18.07.2014 By Manabu Sasaki (The Asahi Shimbun) - HANOI--The true story of a Japanese woman who found new life in Vietnam at the age of 81 after developing senile dementia is being adapted into a feature film. ...

Chinese papers run confessions of Japan’s war criminals — seven decades later

18.07.2014 By Simon Denyer (The Washington Post) - BEIJING — Day after day, the gory confessions spill out from China’s newspapers — rape, murder, beheadings, even a plot to infect villagers’ chopsticks and kitchen knives with typhoid bacteria. The crimes were committed by Japanese soldiers seven decades ago, but the stories are being dusted off for a new era of confrontation. The confessions — appearing one a day, for 45 days — are part of a relentless drumbeat of anti-Japanese propaganda here. ...

Malaysia Airlines MH17 CRASH: 3 unidentified plane victims are Vietnamese, says envoy

18.07.2014 By AP (The Economic Times) - UNITED NATIONS: Vietnam's U.N. ambassador says that three unidentified victims on the downed Malaysian airlines were Vietnamese. ...

Manila urges unity for South East Asian nations in China sea dispute

18.07.2014 (Yahoo News) - MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines is pushing for a meeting among four Southeast Asian nations with conflicting claims to waters in the South China Sea so that they can hammer out a common stand in dealings with China, Manila's foreign minister said on Friday. Albert del Rosario said the Philippines wanted to hold talks with Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam before foreign ministers from regional grouping the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet for an annual conference in Myanmar next month. ...

ADB cuts Southeast Asia growth outlook

18.07.2014 (Channel NewsAsia) - HONG KONG: The Asian Development Bank on Friday downgraded its 2014 economic outlook for Southeast Asia, citing political tensions in Thailand and Vietnam and soft external demand in Indonesia. ...

Japan to resume ODA to Vietnam

18.07.2014 (NHK) - Japan's government plans to resume official development assistance to Vietnam after a brief suspension over a bribery scandal involving a Japan-funded project. ...

Is it Time for an Asian Environmental Miracle?

17.07.2014 Written by Erik Solheim (Asia Sentinel) - The world is changing fast as Asia continues to surge ahead. In fewer than two generations, the Republic of Korea has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the richest and a global leader  in technology and manufacturing. The People’s Republic of China is set to become the largest economy in the world this year. In Viet Nam, 15-year-olds are performing above OECD average in education. Under the new leadership of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will aim for the skies. ...

South China Sea: China’s Oil Rig and Political In-fighting in Hanoi

17.07.2014 Written by Carlyle A. Thayer (Việt Vùng Vịnh) - We are preparing an assessment on the South China Sea dispute and seek your input on how the political infighting inside the Vietnam Communist Party has prevented Vietnam from taking legal action against China. ...

Gegen den Dollar: China will globale Vorherrschaft der USA brechen

17.07.2014 Georg Erber (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten) - China möchte die USA als Weltmacht Nummer 1 ablösen. Als ersten Schritt wollen die Chinesen die Amerikaner aus ihrem Vorhof in Asien verdrängen. Danach soll der Dollar als Weltwährung verschwinden. Der größte Trumpf der Chinesen: Sie sind der größte Gläubiger der USA. In Asien tobt bereits ein massiver Rüstungswettlauf. ...

iPhone auch in Vietnam ein wichtiges Statussymbol

17.07.2014 (Macerkopf) - Durch Interviews mit Analysten und Konsumenten in Vietnam hat die Nachrichtenagentur Bloomberg nun festgestellt, dass sich Apples iPhone auch in Vietnam als Statussymbol etabliert hat. ...

Despite oil rig removal, China and Vietnam row still simmers

17.07.2014 Kate Hodal, South China Sea (The Guardian) - A message blared from the loudspeakers of Vietnam Coast Guard vessel CSB-8003 and echoed across the deep azure waters of the South China Sea. "This is a warning! Remove your vessels immediately!" said the automated Chinese voice. "You must remove your vessels and the Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig – this is Vietnam's exclusive economic zone." ...

Strategic Trust, an Oil Rig and Vietnam’s Dilemma

17.07.2014 By Nguyen Huu Tuc (The Diplomat) - Vietnam thus faces a dilemma. Many scholars have urged Hanoi to either react assertively with China, or change its foreign policy to effectively deal with Beijing’s increasingly aggressive attitude. In his article in The Diplomat, Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Associate Professor of Government and International Relations at George Mason University, suggested Vietnamese leaders have to face the fact that ideological affiliation and socialist brotherhood have failed to prevent China from encroaching on Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. ...

Drilling for diplomacy: How China’s rig removal affects change in Vietnam

17.07.2014 Kristine Kwok (South China Morning Post) - Just 10 months ago, Pham Quang Nghi was greeted by top Chinese officials while praising the importance of fostering the "traditional relationship" with China during a visit to Beijing. But things have changed drastically since then. On Sunday, the member of Vietnam's decision-making body, the Politburo, will lead a delegation to visit another key player in the region: the United States. ...

Vietnamese pop champagne as Chinese oil rig leaves

17.07.2014 By Nga Pham (BBC News) - China's decision to move its oil rig from waters claimed by both Beijing and Hanoi near the disputed Paracel archipelago followed more than two months of intense maritime activity. The decision will come as a relief to Vietnamese fishermen who claim they have been harassed by Chinese coast guard ships operating in the area. But the new calm is an uneasy one in the choppy waters of the South China Sea.  ...

As Vietnam's women go abroad, dads tend the home

17.07.2014 By Mike Ives (Associated Press) - Vu Hoi, Vietnam -- When his wife moved to Taiwan nine years ago to work as a maid - earning far more than she could in the rice paddies of this northern Vietnamese hamlet - Pham Duc Viet took over the household chores and raised their two children on top of his regular work as a farmer and carpenter. Now, the double duty is second nature for Viet, 48, as it with many male neighbors. ...

Microsoft moves Nokia manufacturing from China to Vietnam

17.07.2014 By Larry Dignan (ZDNet) - Amid a large restructuring of its Nokia unit, Microsoft is also joining many technology companies moving manufacturing from China to Vietnam. Microsoft is also moving operations to Brazil and Mexico. ...

The government treats a sick detainee’s medical records like a state secret

16.07.2014 Dr. T.K. Tran, MRVN (Defend the Defenders) - After his diagnosis, government agencies kept Mr. Dinh and his family in the dark about his illness. The family’s request for the medical records was rejected by the prison administration on the ground that they were not responsible for tracking a prisoner’s medical status but the hospital where the patient has been being treated. ...

China beendet Ölbohrung in umstrittenen Gewässern

16.07.2014 Von Till Fähnders, Singapur (FAZ) - Die Furcht vor einem militärischen Konflikt in Asien hatte zugenommen, seitdem China im Mai die Ölplattform Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HYSY 981) in Gewässer brachte, auf die sowohl China als auch Vietnam Hoheitsrechte anmelden. Die Beziehungen zwischen den einstigen sozialistischen Bruderländern erreichten einen Tiefpunkt. Ursprünglich hatte das Unternehmen angekündigt, die Bohrinsel bis August in dem Gebiet zu belassen. Mit ihrer vorzeitigen Verlegung dürfte sich auch die unmittelbare Gefahr eines Militärkonflikts vorerst verringern. ...

China retira una plataforma petrolera instalada frente a costas de Vietnam

16.07.2014 (Yahoo Finanzas España) - Una plataforma 'offshore' instalada por Pekín a comienzos de mayo en el Mar de China meridional, que dio origen a una grave crisis con Vietnam, será trasladada a las costas chinas, informó este miércoles la prensa estatal. La misma estaba siendo utilizada en una fase de prospección y las perforaciones realizadas permitieron encontrar hidrocarburos --gas y pétróleo--, según afirmó en la víspera la agencia Xinhua. ...

La Chine retire une plateforme de forage au large du Vietnam

16.07.2014 (Le Huffington Post Québec) - Une plateforme offshore installée par Pékin début mai en mer de Chine méridionale, à l'origine d'une grave crise avec le Vietnam, va être rapatriée près des côtes chinoises, a rapporté la presse d'Etat. Cette plateforme a servi à une phase d'exploration et les forages réalisés ont permis de trouver des hydrocarbures --gaz et pétrole--, a affirmé mardi soir l'agence Chine nouvelle. ...

Chinese Oil Rig Moved Away From Disputed Waters Off Vietnam

16.07.2014 By David Tweed and John Boudreau (Bloomberg News) - A Chinese oil company has completed drilling in disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam and moved a rig that sparked skirmishes between boats of the two countries and deadly anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam. The HYSY 981 rig completed drilling off Zhongjian Island in the Xisha Islands, as the Paracel Islands are known in Chinese, on July 15, China Oilfield Services Ltd. (2883) said in a statement yesterday. Oil and gas resources were detected, China National Petroleum Corp., which managed the project, said in a statement. ...

Is China Only Playing Catch-Up in the South China Sea

16.07.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran (Asia Sentinel) - A shaky argument but a muddy one

Robert Wade and Dic Lo, in a letter published by the Financial Times recently argued that China’s actions in the South China Sea and the Pacific have merely been attempts to catch up and respond to those activities occurring outside its borders. ...

Apple Looks to Status-Hungry Vietnam for Growth: Southeast Asia

16.07.2014 John Boudreau and Nguyen Kieu Giang (The Washington Post) - July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Bich Ngoc, who earns less than $60 a week and has a newborn son, cobbled together four months of savings to buy the latest iPhone so she could impress her colleagues who have older versions of the device. “I like the iPhone because it is small, light and very delicate,” said Ngoc, a 24-year-old accountant in Hanoi who purchased the device last week. “Everyone seems a bit jealous.” ...

China frees 13 Vietnamese fishermen, seizes boat

15.07.2014 (The New Zealand Herald) - BEIJING (AP) China's coast guard said Tuesday it released 13 Vietnamese fishermen who were seized off the country's southern coast in two separate incidents amid tensions over disputed waters. ...

In disputed sea, Vietnam and China play high-stakes cat and mouse

15.07.2014 By Martin Petty, near rig HD-981 South China Sea (Reuters) - Crewmen in blue camouflage uniforms pour out onto the deck of a Vietnamese coastguard ship as an imposing Chinese vessel guarding a giant oil rig gives chase, gathering steam by the second.

A plume of smoke billows out as the engines of the Vietnamese ship rev up. ...

In the heart of the Vietnam China standoff at sea

15.07.2014 Eunice Yoon (CNBC) - It's not often you get a chance to see one of the most dangerous flashpoints in Asia.

We went on a boat to the South China Sea to check out the latest standoff between Vietnam and China. ...

Mekong dams causing problems for Vietnamese farmers in delta

15.07.2014 By Supalak Ganjanakhundee, Can Tho, Vietnam (The Nation) - Fish migration and sediment flow hit; threat from more seawater intrusion. Vo Van Co, a 49-year-old farmer at Vuon Man Ba Ho orchard in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho, feels the environment has changed, as rain and water levels have fluctuated in recent years and affected his work - but he doesn't know why.

Local ecologist Nguyen Huu Thien said the delta now faces three major threats: climate change, "errors" in domestic development and projects upstream on the Mekong River. ...

Why TPP Should Be A Nonstarter

15.07.2014 Đoan Trang (phamdoantrang.com) - As negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement continue, several members of the U.S. Congress held a press conference on July 9 on the steps of the Capitol, setting forth numerous objections to the Obama administration’s approach to the TPP. ...

Asiaten fürchten Militärkonflikt mit China

15.07.2014 Von Till Fähnders, Singapur (FAZ) - In der Bevölkerung Asiens nehmen die Befürchtungen zu, dass die diversen Territorialstreitigkeiten in der Region zu einem Militärkonflikt zwischen China und einem seiner Nachbarländer führen könnten. Das hat eine Umfrage des amerikanischen Pew Research Centre ergeben. ...

China’s Territorial Disputes Take Toll on Global Image, Pew Says

15.07.2014 By David Tweed (Bloomberg) - China’s territorial disputes are taking a toll on its image with many Asians concerned its claims will lead to military conflicts, according to a Pew Research Center report. ...

Vietnam’s first Catholic university could be built within a year

14.07.2014 Paola Affatato for Vatican Insider, Vietnam (UCAnews) - Vietnam’s first Catholic university is no longer a mirage. It is very soon going to become a reality, in fact according to Paul Bui Van Doc, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, the structure could be ready within a year.  ...

Bride school: Where South Korea’s mail-order wives learn their trade

14.07.2014 By Chico Harlan (The Washington Post) -  HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — They met for the first time at a hotel coffee shop. He’d flown five hours from South Korea. She’d come eight hours by bus from the Vietnamese countryside. The attraction was modest but enough. About 18 hours later, they were married. ...

China’s Challenge in Africa: Avoid Blame of Neo-Colonialism

14.07.2014 Written by Gregory Chin, YaleGlobal (Asia Sentinel) - Talking about “South-South cooperation,” making plans, is easier than doing it – especially in an increasingly integrated and competitive world economy. China is learning this while navigating the growing testiness in its relations with leading economies in Africa. China’s supersized presence in the continent offers new opportunities, but also new risks, especially to the manufacturing sectors. ...

Neuerscheinung. WENN TAUSEND TRÄNEN FALLEN

14.07.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) -  WENN TAUSEND TRÄNEN FALLEN ist die wahre Geschichte einer vietnamesischen Familie – zerrissen durch Krieg, Kommunismus und CIA, eine romanartige Biografie der Vietnamesin Yung Krall, in einer Übersetzung durch Patrick Thanh Nguyen-Brem. ...

Mekong region and Korea

13.07.2014 By Ramchandra Pode (The Korea Times) - The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) comprises Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Provinces in the People's Republic of China, covering a land area of some 2.3 million square kilometers. ...

Washington pundits: 'Get tough with China'

12.07.2014 By Jeremy Au Yong (The Straits Times) - WASHINGTON pundits are calling for tougher US action to counter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, in a reflection of growing frustration after a high-level meeting in Beijing showed up the gulf in how both sides view the territorial disputes. ...

Verband unabhängiger Journalisten Vietnams gegründet

12.07.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Forum Vietnam 21 begrüßt die Gründung des ersten Verbands unabhängiger Journalisten in Vietnam. In einer Versammlung in Saigon wurde der Verband IJAVN (Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam) am 04.07.2014 gegründet.

Der bekannte Journalist Pham Chi Dung, 48, wurde zum Vorsitzenden des IJAVN gewählt. Einer seiner drei Stellvertreter, Pater Anton Lê Ngọc Thanh, für die Webseite Vietnamese Redemptorists' News verantwortlich, gehört zu den 100 "Informationshelden" der Organisation „Reporter ohne Grenzen“. Der IJAVN setzt sich für die Freilassung seiner inhaftierter Kollegen. ...

Asean political-security community challenges

12.07.2014 By Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid (The Star) - THE People’s Asean would not be a reality if the politics is not right – both the domestic political systems in which the people live and the wider regional order that underpins the peace, stability and prosperity of their lives. As Asean member states are increasingly discovering, the previous contention that economic growth and benefit will satisfy citizens without need to be over-excited about political rights, is wearing thin. That model does not work any more, if it ever did. ...

Opinion - Vietnam’s Overdue Alliance With America

11.07.2014 By Tuong Lai (The New York Times) - OURS is a small country. We Vietnamese cannot and must not entrust our future to anyone, but we urgently need strategic allies at a moment in history when our priority is to defeat our present-day enemy: China. We cannot fight Chinese encroachment alone. Political isolation in a globalized world is tantamount to committing political suicide for Vietnam.  ...

Dua oil field offshore Vietnam brought on stream

11.07.2014 By Rick Wilkinson, OGJ Correspondent (Oil & Gas Journal) - MELBOURNE - Premier Oil Group, which includes Santos Ltd., Adelaide, has brought its Dua oil field on stream offshore Vietnam. Dua is a 3-well subsea development tied back to the nearby Chim Sao facilities on Block 12W of the Nam Con Son basin. ...

US Bekleidungsimporte fallen, Vietnam legt zu

11.07.2014 (Fashion United) - Während die Bekleidungs- und Textilimporte der USA in den ersten fünf Monaten des Jahres insgesamt um 3,7 Prozent stiegen, war der Mai überall ein etwas langsamer Monat, in dem US-Importe um 3,7 Prozent auf das Äquivalent von 1,89 Milliarden Quadratmetern (SMEs) fielen, verglichen mit 1,96 Milliarden SMEs vor einem Jahr. ...

The False Promise of an International Business and Human Rights Treaty

10.07.2014 Aaron Rhodes (The Huffington Post) - Child labor is a scourge that tragically robs children of their childhood, their health, and their future. It is a global problem, and one that requires international cooperation to pressure governments to institute economic reforms and impose and enforce sound labor standards. In many cases, national laws protecting children need to be strengthened. Transnational or other corporations that exploit children need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and also punished by consumers.  ...

New USAID Policy Highlights the Role of Biodiversity Conservation, Prioritizes Vietnam

10.07.2014 (USAID) - HANOI -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched its first-ever Biodiversity Policy in Washington on July 8, setting forth an ambitious vision of conserving biodiversity globally for sustainable long-term development. 

Under the new policy, Vietnam is identified by USAID as a priority country for biodiversity programming. ...

AsiaInspection Q2 Barometer: Riots, Strikes and 200,000 Toxic Products

10.07.2014 (Business Wire) - HONG KONG -AsiaInspection, a leading global provider of quality control services for businesses importing from Asia, Africa, Southern Europe and Latin America, today announces its 2014 Q2 Barometer, a quarterly synopsis on outsourced manufacturing and the quality control services industry. ...

China Tries to Flex Muscles, Making Enemies

10.07.2014 AP (Epoch Times) - BEIJING—Nearly three decades after Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously instructed his diplomats to “be good at maintaining a low profile and never claim leadership,” a new generation of rulers has made it clear that they’re ready to shed the humility and show off their country’s rising military and political power. ...

Consultancy, three officials face bribery charges in Vietnam aid project

10.07.2014 Kyodo (The Japan Times) - Prosecutors filed charges Thursday against a Tokyo-based consultancy and three of its officials for allegedly bribing Vietnam Railways officials for favors in conjunction with a Japan-funded project in Hanoi. ...

Lesung aus "Nói trong im lặng" („Reden im Schweigen“) mit Người Buôn Gió

10.07.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Der vietnamesischen Blogger und Schriftsteller Bùi Thanh Hiếu alias Người Buôn Gió liest einen Ausschnitt aus seiner Erzählung Nói trong im lặng („Reden im Schweigen“). Die Lesung wird von dem Arbeitsbereich Vietnamistik der Abteilung für Südostasien im Asien-Afrika-Institut der Universität Hamburg veranstaltet und findet am morgigen Freitag statt. ...

The danger that is Article 258

10.07.2014 Trịnh Hữu Long - Phạm Đoan Trang (phamdoantrang.com) - The recent arrest of the Basam web site founder highlights how one penal code provision, Article 258, can be stretched by the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam to take away anyone’s freedom at any time for doing anything that’s not state-sanctioned. ...

US criticises SE Asia on rights

10.07.2014 (Bangkok Post) - WASHINGTON — Lawmakers reviewed the “troubling” state of human rights in Southeast Asia Wednesday and criticised Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. But they reserved some of their toughest words for Myanmar, demanding an end to United States concessions to its quasi-civilian government. ...

Light through the night

10.07.2014 Anthony Le Ngoc Thanh, CSsR (VRNs) - Sai Gon - “I’m done, but what’s going on with my brothers in jail?”, Huynh Anh Tri asked us while he knew he had contracted HIV. May 28th 2014 - the day that I never forget. ...

A look at China's territorial claims

10.07.2014 AP (ABC News) - ... SOUTH CHINA SEA: The South China Sea, also believed to contain significant petroleum reserves, is the most complex of China's border disputes. China claims virtually the entire 425,000 square kilometers (164,000 square miles) of sea and its 750-plus islands, rocks and everything else above water, although it remains vague and inconsistent about what legal definitions apply.

Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei also claim parts of the South China Sea.  ...

Internationaler Experten-Workshop: Spratly und Paracel-Inseln gehören zu Vietnam

09.07.2014 (PolitikExpress) - Über 100 Fachexperten, Wissenschaftler und Journalisten aus den USA, Deutschland, Russland, Frankreich, Belgien, Japan, Italien, Indien, Südkoreas, Australien und den Philippinen kamen im zentralvietnamesischen Da Nang zusammen, um gemeinsam mit vietnamesischen Wissenschaftlern über den historischen Anspruch Vietnams auf die Paracel- und Spratly-Inseln zu diskutieren. Der Territorialstreit zwischen Vietnam und China, der sich bereits über Jahre hinzieht, hatte am 1. Mai 2014 mit der provokativen Platzierung der chinesischen Bohrplattform Haiyang Shi You 981 in der Nähe der vietnamesischen Insel Ly Son eine neue Eskalationsstufe erreicht.  ...

China wird immer stärker

08.07.2014 von Petra Kolonko (FAZ) - Die Konflikte in Ostasien sind weit weg. Es wäre aber ein Fehler, sie zu übersehen. China macht aus seinem Machtanspruch kein Hehl mehr. „Friedlicher Aufstieg“ heißt das zwar noch, ist aber doch bedrohlich geworden.  ...

5 reasons China has no friends

08.07.2014 Ali Wyne (The Washington Post) - In 2010, then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a gathering of Asian countries that the United States “has a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia’s maritime commons, and respect for international law in the South China Sea.” To China, those were fighting words. But surprisingly, no country came to its defense. Instead, 12 of China’s neighbors issued statements in support of Clinton’s position. ...

Vietnam in a Quandary: China's Aggression, America's Seduction

08.07.2014  Andrew Lam (The Huffington Post) - Thi Quang Lam, a former general in the South Vietnamese army, is the author of The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon and most recently, Hell in An Loc: The 1972 Easter Invasion and the Battle That Saved South Vietnam. He also happens to be my father. Below is a Q&A I conducted with him on issues related to contemporary Vietnam and its growing unrest, spurred in large part by China's aggression and Hanoi's muted response. ...

Cambodian Protesters, Police Clash at Vietnam Embassy

08.07.2014 Heng Reaksmey (VOA) - PHNOM PENH — About 100 Cambodian students clashed briefly with police Tuesday while protesting remarks made by a Vietnamese embassy official on the issue of Cambodian land lost to Hanoi. ...

Vietnam Association Demands Release of Boat, Crew from China

07.07.2014 Tra Mi (VOA) - A Vietnamese fishing association is demanding the release of a ship and crew taken into custody by Chinese authorities in the South China Sea last week. According to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, six Vietnamese fishermen were detained July 3 off China's Hainan Island. ...

RWB hails creation of Vietnam’s first independent journalists association

07.07.2014 (Reporters Without Borders) - With many members, including well known journalists, it intends to defend detained colleagues, train young reporters and operate a news website. Reporters Without Borders hails the creation of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN), the country’s first such organization. ...

RSF salue la création de la première association de journalistes indépendants vietnamienne

07.07.2014 (Reporters sans frontières) - Une association de journaliste a été créée à Ho-Chi-Minh-Ville le 4 juillet 2014. C’est la première fois qu’un si grand nombre de journalistes se réunissent publiquement afin de promouvoir le principe d”’une information libre et indépendante de toute volonté politique”. ...

South China Sea Disputes Likely to Dominate US-China Talks

07.07.2014 Scott Stearns (VOA) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel travel to Beijing this week for meetings with their Chinese counterparts on trade and security issues. Those talks are expected to include discussions on new Chinese oil rigs in disputed waters off Vietnam that are driving up tensions in the South China Sea. ...

Q. and A.: Lyle Goldstein on China and the Vietnamese Military

05.07.2014 By Jane Perlez (Sinosphere/The New York Times) - Prof. Lyle J. Goldstein, associate professor at the China Maritime Studies Institute at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, is well qualified to examine the capacities of the Chinese and Vietnamese militaries. ...

Vietnam’s precarious strategic balancing act

05.07.2014 Author: Huong Le Thu, ISEAS (East Asia Forum) - The Vietnam–US partnership indicated an ongoing commitment to existing cooperation in trade, education and development. For Vietnam, it was beneficial to be included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A partnership with the US also positively contributed to Vietnam’s hedging strategy against China, while opening the door to further strengthen ties with the US. ...

Shadow of Brutal ’79 War Darkens Vietnam’s View of China Relations

05.07.2014 By Jane Perlez (The New York Times) - The conflict between China and Vietnam in 1979 lasted less than a month. But the fighting was so ferocious that its legacy permeates the current sour relations between the two Communist countries now at odds over hotly contested waters in the South China Sea. ...

China’s ‘New’ Language of Diplomacy

04.07.2014 Written by Tuan V. Nguyen (Asia Sentinel) - A notable characteristic of Chinese officials in international conferences and media is that their language is unusually blunt and rude in a manner that has done nothing to aid China’s effort to be recognized as a civilized member of the world diplomatic community. ...

Menschenrechtsausschuss begrüßt Freilassung vietnamesischer Menschenrechtsaktivistin Do Thi Minh Hanh - Einsatz von„Parlamentarier schützen Parlamentarier“

04.07.2014 (Deutscher Bundestag) - Der Vorsitzende des Ausschusses für Menschenrechte und humanitäre Hilfe, Michael Brand MdB, begrüßt die „überfällige“ Freilassung der vietnamesischen Menschenrechtsaktivistin Do Thi Minh Hanh. ...

China detains six Vietnamese fisherman in disputed waters

05.07.2014 (ABC Radio Australia) - Chinese authorities have arrested six Vietnamese fishermen, in a move that could increase tensions in the South China Sea. Vietnam says the men and their boat were detained in disputed waters, where the two countries had been confronting each other over a Chinese oil rig in recent weeks. ...

Vietnam denuncia la captura de pesquero vietnamita por parte de barcos chinos

04.07.2014 (Univision) - Bangkok, 4 jul (EFE).- Varios barcos chinos, incluido al menos uno oficial, han capturado a un pesquero vietnamita cuando faenaba en aguas próximas a las islas Paracel, cuya soberanía se disputan ambos países, denunció hoy Vietnam. ...

China confirma la detención de un pesquero vietnamita en aguas disputadas

04.07.2014 (ABC.es) - Pekín, 4 jul (EFE).- El Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores chino anunció hoy que sus guardacostas detuvieron a un pesquero de Vietnam con seis tripulantes por operar ilegalmente en aguas del Mar de China Meridional, donde ambos países mantienen una disputa por la soberanía de los archipiélagos Paracel y Spratly. ...

Lawfare or Warfare?: History, International Law and Geo-Strategy

04.07.2014 Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - Carl Thayer reports on Vietnam’s Da Nang conference on the status of the Paracel Islands.

In March this year, Pham Van Dong University and the University of Da Nang teamed up to invite foreign scholars and legal experts to attend an international workshop on “Sovereignty Over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos: Historical and Legal Aspects” (later renamed Historical Truths) from June 19-21. The workshop was held in the central coastal city of Da Nang opposite the Paracel Islands. ...

What is behind China's new belligerence?

04.07.2014 By Kyle Mizokami (The Week) - In the past nine months, the People's Republic of China has been on a bender. It has picked fights and barged into territory claimed by Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, using planes, ships, even an oil rig, to bully its neighbors. ...

Vietnam dice que plataforma petrolera en aguas en disputa viola leyes internacionales

03.07.2014 Escrito por Mong Palatino, Traducido por María Angélica Marín (Global Voices Español) - Nguyen Thi Lan Anh de la Academia diplomática de Vietnam explica [en] porqué China cometió un error al mover una plataforma petrolera en las aguas en disputa entre China y Vietnam. ...

The South China Sea dispute is hitting Vietnamese fishermen, who face harassment at sea from Chinese patrols

03.07.2014 Roberto Tofani (Aljazeera) - Da Nang, Vietnam - When the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) placed its first oil  rig, HD-981, about 130 nautical miles (nm) from the Vietnamese coast, at the beginning of May, relationships between the two countries became strained. Both claim sovereignty over the Paracel islands, an archipelago just off the coast ...

China's growing image problem in Myanmar

03.07.2014 Fiona Macgregor (Nikkei Asian Review) - YANGON -- When protesters against a copper mine in central Myanmar recently took two Chinese contractors hostage, the incident sparked reports about growing anti-China sentiment in a country long reliant on investment from its giant neighbor. ...

Vietnam wehrt sich gegen Verschleppung von Frauen nach China

03.07.2014 (Zeit Online) - Junge Frauen aus Vietnam werden zunehmend an chinesische Männer "verkauft" – eine Folge der Ein-Kind-Politik in China ...

Samsung setzt auf den Elektronik-Boom in Vietnam

03.07.2014 Von Vu Trong Khanh (The Wall Street Journal Deutschland) - Samsung hat von den Behörden in Vietnam grünes Licht erhalten, 1 Milliarde US-Dollar in eine Fabrik im Norden des Landes zu investieren. Das Werk soll 50 Kilometer nordöstlich von Hanoi entstehen, 8.000 Arbeiter beschäftigen und jedes Jahr 48 Millionen hochauflösende Bildschirme für Smartphones und Tablets produzieren....

In tackling bad debts, Vietnam takes it slow

03.07.2014 Elisabeth Rosen (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- Vietnam could be close to approving the first sale of a domestic bank to foreign buyers. The size of the deal would likely be negligible, but it would still be a major moment in the process of cleaning up Southeast  Asia's most precarious banking sector. ...

Vietnamesische Fischer im Streit mit China

02.07.2014 Rodion Ebbighausen, Ly Son, Vietnam (DW) - Den Preis für die Inselstreitigkeiten im Südchinesischen Meer zahlen vor allem die Fischer der Region. Diese haben oft keine andere Wahl, als sich zwischen die Fronten zu begeben. ...

Philippines, Vietnam criticize China over dispute

02.07.2014 (NKH) - Foreign ministers from the Philippines and Vietnam have criticized China for installing an oil rig near a group of disputed  islands in the South China Sea. Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh met in Hanoi on Wednesday. ...

Entretien avec un prêtre blogueur, « héros de l’information »

02.07.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le 6 mai dernier, à l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse, Reporters sans frontières publiait pour la première fois une « Liste des 100 héros de l’information ». Beaucoup se sont étonnés d’y découvrir le nom du P. Antoine Lê Ngoc Thanh, religieux rédemptoriste vietnamien. La notice qui suivait le nom du religieux dans la liste en question éclairait ce choix en décrivant la personnalité de ce prêtre et le travail qu’il accomplit en tant que responsable du site d’information des rédemptoristes vietnamiens et de la radio libre qui lui est attachée. ...

Activista vietnamita: De compañeros de celda, la fuerza para soportar los tormentos de la prisión

02.07.2014 (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City (Agencia Fides) - Do Thi Minh Hanh, joven activista vietnamita por los derechos de los trabajadores, ha sido liberado de la cárcel el 27 de junio, después de haber pasado cuatro años de los siete infligidos por el juez en el momento del juicio. La mujer fue condenada por haberse manifestado y la distribución de folletos en apoyo a los trabajadores del sector del calzado en huelga para exigir mejores condiciones de trabajo y una mayor remuneración. ...

Ex-Vietnamese Political Prisoner Blames Jail Conditions for HIV Infection

02.07.2014 (RFA) - A former Vietnamese political prisoner who had served 14 years in jail says he has been tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, blaming the infection to inhumane conditions during his imprisonment, including mass sharing of shaving razor blades. ...

Vietnamese activist: cellmates gave her strength to endure the torments of prison

02.07.2014 (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Minh City - Do Thi Minh Hanh, a young Vietnamese labour activist, was released from prison on 27 June. She spent four years of a seven-year sentence in prison for demonstrating and distributing leaflets in support of footwear workers on strike for better working conditions and higher wages. ...

Samsung Display says to build $1 bln Vietnam plant

02.07.2014 (Reuters) - SEOUL - A subsidiary of South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it received approval to build a $1 billion display module assembly plant in Vietnam, its first production facility in the country. ...

UN Human Rights Council Reaffirms Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Online

01.07.2014 By Jillian York (EFF) - EFF is pleased by the adoption of a resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) reaffirming the “promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.” The resolution — sponsored by Brazil, Tunisia, Nigeria, Turkey, Sweden, and the United States—was adopted by consensus at the twenty-sixth session of the UNHRC and supported by a total of 82 member states. Last month, EFF joined 62 civil society groups in calling on the UN to uphold fundamental rights online. ...

Vietnam battles sex trafficking along China’s border

01.07.2014 (PBS) - China is like a giant magnet to neighboring Vietnam, luring workers with higher wages and transportation to other countries. But many women are taken to China involuntarily to be sold into marriage or to work in brothels. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the human trafficking across the long land border and the efforts to stop it ...

Time for the US to Get Tough on Vietnam

01.07.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc (Asia Sentinel) - Ultimatum to change needed. The United States’ engagement with Vietnam is, in large part, a failure. Hanoi continues to ply benefits from the US while offering little in return. It is time for the US to demand what kind of relationship Hanoi is seeking with Washington. ...

China fires up arms race against Japan

01.07.2014 Tetsuro Kosaka, Nikkei senior staff writer (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- China has been stepping up military provocations against Japan in the East China Sea amid high tensions there due to the bitter dispute over a group of small, uninhabited islets. ...

Asean seen as a reluctant economic bloc

01.07.2014 Kristine Angeli Sabilo, Philippine Daily Inquirer (inquirer.net) If the United States is a reluctant superpower, then the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is a reluctant economic bloc, said a panelist in this year’s Asian Business Conference “2015 Approaching.” ...

Libération d’une jeune militante du syndicalisme indépendant

01.07.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Peu après l’annonce, le 9 juin dernier, de la création du « Syndical libre des travailleurs vietnamiens », on apprend la libération d’une militante du syndicalisme indépendant au Vietnam, Dô Thi Minh Hanh. Elle vient de rejoindre son domicile, le 27 juin 2014, trois ans avant l’achèvement de sa peine. En 2010, elle avait été condamnée à sept années de prison par le tribunal populaire de Tra Vinh. ...