HomeInh-2014-12

Another blogger held, RWB calls for his immediate release

31.12.2014 (RWB) - Better known by the blog name of Nguyen Ngoc Gia, he was arrested at his Ho Chi Minh City home, which was searched by police. The public security ministry said the 48-year-old Ngoc was detained for “illegal activities.” No further details are so far available. ...

RSF demande la libération immédiate du blogueur Nguyen Dinh Ngoc

31.12.2014 (RSF) - Une nouvelle arrestation vient frapper les rangs des blogueurs vietnamiens. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc est détenu depuis le 27 décembre dernier, interpellé à Ho Chi Minh par les forces de police. Le Vietnam conforte ainsi sa position de deuxième plus grande prison du monde pour les net-citoyens, après la Chine. ...

Vietnam: Kaviar vom Albino-Stör erobert Russland

31.12.2014 (Der Tagesspiegel) - Albino-Störe sind selten und ihre Eier, verkauft als Ho-Kaviar, entsprechend teuer. Mehr als 80.000 Euro kann ein Kilo kosten, zehn Mal so viel wie schwarzer Kaviar. Diese Störe leben in einem Stausee in Zentral-Vietnam. ...

Corruption in Vietnam - Rooting out graft not as simple as setting up government hotlines

30.12.2014 By Atsushi Tomiyama (Nikkei Asian Review) - HANOI -- The government of Vietnam is making it easier to file complaints about corruption. This year, new channels have opened up for reporting graft in sectors such as railways, ports and food. But while the nation's leaders may be keen to cut down on such practices, would-be whistleblowers remain mostly mum. ...

Wanted: brides for millions of Chinese men

30.12.2014 by Adam Minter (The Japan Times) - SHANGHAI – In the villages outside of Handan, China, a bachelor looking to marry a local girl needs to have as much as $64,000 — the price tag for a suitable home and obligatory gifts. That’s a bit out of the price range of many of the farmers who live in the area. ...

Alleged human trafficking victim tells court of sweatshop working conditions at Leisure Clothing

30.12.2014 By John Cordina (The Malta Independent) - A former Vietnamese employee of Chinese state-owned clothing manufacturer Leisure Clothing told a court that she worked long hours - including forced overtime - to earn considerably less than minimum wage as the compilation of evidence against two of its directors continued today. ...

Vietnamese worker claims she received €1.70 for almost 4 hours overtime

30.12.2014 By Matthew Agius (maltatoday) - A Vietnamese former employee of Leisure Clothing told a court today that her overtime earnings for hours worked between 5:45pm and 9:30pm amounted to just €1.70 per overtime session. ...

Air-Asia-Flug Q78501: Wie sicher sind ostasiatische Airlines?

29.12.2014 Von Christian Flier (web.de) - Der Flug mit der Nummer Q78501 ist spurlos vom Radar verschwunden. Wie sicher sind Airlines aus dem ostasiatischen Raum? ...

Great Gamble on the Mekong

29.12.2014 By Nathaniel Eisen (Epoch Times) - Fishers and farmers have for some time tried to block a proposed dam on the Mekong River in southern Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Most recently, they made their views known at a public consultation on the Don Sahong dam. In all likelihood, however, they will lose and the dam will be built. “The Don Sahong dam will only push Cambodia and Vietnam closer to a food crisis,” said Chhith Sam Ath, an employee of the World Wildlife Fund in Cambodia. ...

Dritter Blogger innerhalb eines Monats in Vietnam festgenommen

29.12.2014 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Die vietnamesische Polizei hat am vergangenen Sonnabend einen Blogger in Ho Chi Minh Stadt (vormals Saigon) festgenommen. Dies ist die dritte Verhaftung eines kritischen Bloggers innerhalb eines Monats. Einer Mitteilung der Website der Polizei von Ho Chi Minh Stadt zufolge, haben die Sicherheitskräfte den Blogger Nguyen Dinh Ngoc, Jahrgang 1966, in der südvietnamesischen Metropole verhaftet und seine Wohnung durchsucht. ...

Third blogger detained in Vietnam

29.12.2014 (dpa international) - Hanoi - Police in Vietnam have detained a blogger in Ho Chi Minh City, the third such arrest within a month. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc, 48, was taken into custody on Saturday, an announcement on the Ministry of Public Security website said.  ...

3rd blogger detained in Vietnam in a month

28.12.2014 (AP) - HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnamese police have detained a third blogger in a month in the latest crackdown on dissent in the communist country. Blogger Nguyen Dinh Ngoc, 48, was taken into custody and his house was searched in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday. ...

China Names New Navy Head as Territorial Disputes Fuel Tensions

25.12.2014 (Bloomberg) –- China appointed Miao Hua as the new political commissar of its navy, making him the most senior official for a fleet that’s been put in the spotlight by ongoing territorial disputes with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines. ...

Russia economic gloom hurts tourism

25.12.2014 (The Nation) - The number of Russian tourists arriving in Vietnam is expected to decline at the beginning of 2015, due to the devaluation of the ruble in Russia. On December 16, the Russian central bank raised its key interest rate to 17 per cent from 10.5 per cent and the ruble fell beyond 60 to the dollar. ...

China police stop 'extremists' leaving country, one shot dead

24.12.2014 (Yahoo News) - BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in southwestern China shot dead one person and detained 21 others who were part of a group of "religious extremists" trying to cross the border into Vietnam, state media said on Wednesday. ...

Du caviar albinos «made in Vietnam»

24.12.2014 (24heures) - Dans une ferme d'esturgeons du sud du Vietnam, un employé sort un énorme poisson des eaux d'un lac artificiel. «C'est un albinos!», s'exclame l'excentrique «roi du caviar» vietnamien Le Anh Duc. ...

Falling Oil Prices Pinch Vietnam's Economy, Tourism

23.12.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnam’s export revenues are expected to drop because of sliding oil prices, putting pressure on the national budget, which relies on oil profits for more than 10 percent of all spending. Oil prices have tumbled nearly 50 percent over the past few months, sending shock waves through Vietnam. ...

Schweizer Päckli-Adressen werden in Vietnam entziffert

23.12.2014 Von Christoph Aebischer (Berner Zeitung) - Unleserliche Handschrift? Wenns im Paketzentrum stockt, gehen Adressdaten auf eine 9700-Kilometer-Reise. Der Befehl für die Weiterreise kann allerdings auch aus Fernost kommen. Seit 2011 wird jede elektronisch erfasste Adressetikette in Vietnam gecheckt, um Zustellfehler wegen Adressänderungen und Nachsendeaufträgen zu vermeiden. ...

Senior Chinese leader to visit Vietnam amid sea tension

22.12.2014 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese leader will visit Vietnam this month, China's state media said on Monday, amid tension between the neighbours over competing claims in the South China Sea. ...

Vietnam is changing but the country’s women traders are not seeing any benefit

22.12.2014 (The Irish Times) - Long hours are spent working in difficult conditions for small wages. Convoys of cargo trucks crawl along the packed, dimly lit tracks of Hanoi’s Long Bien market as night falls. Porters unload their containers onto pullers at the assembly point and heave them back to the hundreds of wholesalers and traders stationed nearby. ...

China pledges $11.5 billion to Mekong neighbors, looking to allay regional fears

21.12.2014 (Japan Times) - BEIJING – China will provide over $11.5 billion in loans and aid to neighboring Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, mostly for infrastructure and industrial capacity building, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday. ...

China treibt Wirtschafts-Union in Asien voran

21.12.2014 (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten ) - China hat Kambodscha, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand und Laos umfangreiche Kredite und Finanzhilfen angeboten. Gefördert werden soll der Ausbau der Infrastruktur. China will mit diesen Maßnahmen verhindern, dass die Amerikaner ihren Einfluss in Südostasien weiter ausbauen. ...

‘Montagnard’ refugees emerge from hideout

21.12.2014 (Brunei Times) - PHNOM PENH - EIGHT hill tribe ‘Montagnards’ have emerged from hiding in a remote Cambodian border area where they crossed from Vietnam to flee persecution, the United Nations Refugee Agency said yesterday. ...

Entwicklungsminister: Weihnachts-Textilien verantwortungsvoll kaufen

20.12.2014 (boerse-online) - BERLIN/STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - Entwicklungsminister Gerd Müller hat an die Verbraucher appelliert, beim Kauf von Textilien im Weihnachtsgeschäft nicht nur auf möglichst billige Angebote zu achten. "In Bangladesch oder Vietnam arbeiten Näherinnen nicht selten für 15 Cent pro Stunde.  ...

Letter from a father: Demand the Vietnamese Authority to review dead penalty for my son Nguyen Van Chuong

19.12.2014 (Dân Làm Báo) - My name is Nguyen Truong Chinh, born in 1945, I am currently residing at Hamlet 1 Binh Dan Village, Kim Thanh, Hai Duong Province. My telephone number is 01626627673 (+84 1626627673). I am writing this letter in desperation, asking you for help by calling on the Vietnamese Government to review my son's - Nguyen Van Chuong - case.

Having a son on dead penalty and soon to be executed, like many normal parents, we could not described the pains and heart aches we have endured in the last 8 years to see my son was unjustly put in jail and was constantly tortured for the crime he did not commit. ...

Cambodia: ‘Substantial grounds’ to believe Montagnards may be in danger, UN warns

19.12.2014 (UN News Centre) - 19 December 2014 – The United Nations agencies responsible for human rights and refugees are voicing concern today over the health and well-being of 13 Vietnamese Montagnards who have been hiding in the Cambodian jungle for more than seven weeks with no access to assistance or protection. ...

Five Events That Will Shape Southeast Asia in 2015

18.12.2014 By Murray Hiebert, Gregory B. Poling (CSIS) - As we prepare to leave 2014 behind, we explore five events that are expected to shape the coming year in Southeast Asia:  ...

Vietnam To Target More Dissident Bloggers But Avoid Blocking Internet

16.12.2014 (Forbes) - ... Vietnam is wielding instead its criminal code to arrest bloggers who spread dissenting views among the country’s 31 million netizens, more than a third of the population. It has used the code’s Article 258 twice in the past month and is expected to apply it more often over the next year surrounding two major political events so leaders in Hanoi have unfettered public support. “If there are factions in the highest level of the Vietnamese leadership, they all share a common interest in suppressing dissident bloggers,” says Carl Thayer, professor emeritus at the University of New South Wales in Australia.  ...

Le Parti communiste vietnamien dans l’impasse?

16.12.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - Le mois de décembre est l’époque où l’on dresse les bilans. En cette fin de l’année, l’auteur du texte ci-dessous, qui signe sous le nom de Lê Minh Nguyên, fait le point sur la situation du Parti communiste au Vietnam, un parti qui depuis cinquante ans détient le monopole du pouvoir.  ...

06.12.2014 (Yahoo News - The West Australian) - Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnamese police arrested a prominent blogger Saturday. Commentator Nguyen Quang Lap was arrested at his house in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday afternoon, his wife told AFP."More than a dozen security people searched our residence for several hours and took him away," Ho Thi Hong said. ...

Vietnam detains blogger for anti-state articles

06.12.2014 (Reuters) - HANOI - A Vietnamese blogger was detained for posting anti-state articles, as Hanoi steps up a crackdown on dissent that has been condemned by rights groups and Western governments. Writer Nguyen Quang Lap was detained after police searched his house on Saturday morning and printed several stories from his blog, said Ho Thi Hong, Lap's wife. ...

Vietnam writer Nguyen Quang Lap 'arrested over blog'

06.12.2014 (BBC) - An award-winning Vietnamese writer has been arrested, reportedly for publishing criticism of the Communist government on his blog. Nguyen Quang Lap was taken into custody after police searched his home in the city of Ho Chi Minh on Saturday. ...

Menschenrechtsbeauftragter Strässer zur Aussetzung einer Hinrichtung in Vietnam

05.12.2014 (Auswärtiges Amt) - Anlässlich der Aussetzung der für heute vorgesehenen Hinrichtung von Ho Duy Hai erklärte der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Menschenrechtspolitik und Humanitäre Hilfe, Christoph Strässer, heute (05.12.) in Berlin: Ich bin erleichtert, dass die Hinrichtung von Ho Duy Hai buchstäblich in letzter Minute gestoppt wurde.

Ich appelliere an die vietnamesischen Behörden, die Todesstrafe gegen Ho Duy Hai in eine Freiheitsstrafe umzuwandeln. Außerdem fordere ich Vietnam auf, ein allgemeines Moratorium für Todesstrafen zu erlassen. ...

DeathRing-Trojaner auf neuen Smartphones entdeckt

04.12.2014 (CNET) - Der Sicherheitsanbieter Lookout Security hat auf einer Reihe Smartphones einen Trojaner entdeckt, der schon beim Kauf auf den Geräten vorinstalliert war. Der sogenannte DeathRing-Trojaner wurde allerdings hauptsächlich auf Smartphones aus China, Indien, Indonesien, Nigeria, Taiwan und Vietnam gefunden. Eine Gefahr besteht für deutsche Nutzer vermutlich nur dann, wenn sie Geräte per Direktkauf aus China erwerben. ...

Communists Love Christmas and a Good Holiday Bargain

05.12.2014 By Mark Milian (Bloomberg) - They may be a week late, but the Vietnamese are celebrating their first day dedicated to bargain shopping, which they're calling, of course, Black Friday. After shoppers in the U.S. and several other Western countries lined up outside of stores last week for a shot at buying televisions and sweaters at a discount, 760 retailers in Vietnam have pledged to post promotions to their websites on Dec. 5. ...

China, Vietnam Among ‘Worst Abusers’ of Internet Freedom04.12.2014 By Joshua Lipes (RFA) - China and Vietnam are among the world’s worst abusers of Internet freedom, a new report said Thursday, as the two communist nations introduced tough new policies aimed at curbing freedom of expression within the online community. ...

Vietnam - Freedom of the Press 2014

04.12.2014 (Freedom House) - Vietnam remained one of Asia’s harshest environments for the media in 2013. Authorities employed both legal mechanisms and physical harassment to punish and intimidate critical journalists, and the widely condemned Decree No. 72 prohibited the sharing of news on social-media sites. The internet persisted as one of the few spaces for dissent, despite crackdowns on netizens that continued throughout the year. ...

Cambodia officials stall planned UN meeting with Montagnards

04.12.2014 Phak Seangly and Alice Cuddy (ucanews) - UN representatives traveled yesterday to Ratanakkiri province to “assess the situation” of a group of Montagnards who have been seeking shelter in the Kingdom in recent weeks, but officials apparently refused to meet with them. ...

Der Mauerfall aus Einwandererperspektive: Preis für die Erinnerungswerkstatt Hannover

04.12.2014 (ldc) - Für ihr "herausragendes Engagement bei der Vermittlung der friedlichen Revolution und des Mauerfalls" hat die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung jetzt die "Erinnerungswerkstatt Hannover" ausgezeichnet. Das Bündnis hatte zum 25. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls am 11. Oktober im Historischen Museum Hannover eine Konferenz mit Erzählcafés organisiert, auf der Zeitzeugen "mit Migrationshintergrund" aus Dessau, Magdeburg und Hannover diskutierten, was der Mauerfall für sie bedeutet und wie sich ihr Leben danach verändert hat. ...

Corporate Critics Say Vietnam's New Tech Regulations Are Bad for Business

03.12.2014 Written by Mong Palatino (Global Voices) - When Vietnam passed Decree 72 last year, slapping new restrictions on how Internet users can share information online, the government promptly caught heat from human rights and media groups for undermining free speech. But instead of heeding these calls to review or repeal Decree 72, Vietnam has passed two more Internet-related decrees that imposed stricter regulations on tech companies, Internet users, and online transactions. ...

Críticos sostienen que nuevas disposiciones en materia de tecnología de Vietnam son malas para los negocios

03.12.2014 Escrito por Mong Palatino, Traducido por Cecilia Cárdenas (Global Voices) - Cuando Vietnam aprobó el Decreto 72 el año pasado, imponiendo nuevas restricciones a la manera en que los usuarios de Internet pueden compartir información en línea, el gobierno rápidamente generó polémica en los medios y en las organizaciones defensoras de derechos humanos por atentar contra la libertad de expresión. Pero en lugar de atender a estos llamados que exigían la revisión o derogación del Decreto 72, Vietnam ha aprobado dos nuevos decretos vinculados a Internet que imponen regulaciones más estrictas a las empresas de tecnología, a los usuarios de Internet y a las transacciones en línea. ...

Vietnam: Erneute Festnahmen regierungskritischer Blogger_innen und Abschiebungen in die USA

03.12.2014 Andrea Jonjic (netzpolitik) - In Vietnam ist es in den vergangenen Monaten und zuletzt Ende November wieder zu Verhaftungen von regierungskritischen Blogger_innen gekommen: Bui Thi Minh Hang wurde im August nach einem Verhandlungstag zu drei Jahren Haft verurteilt, gemeinsam mit Nguyen Van Minh (30 Monate Haft) und Thi Thuy Quynh (24 Monate Haft)... Ende Oktober wurde einer der bekanntesten politischen Gefangenen freigelassen, Nguyen Van Hai. Zuletzt wurde am 29. November Hong Le Tho festgenommen, weil er bad content gepostet sowie falsche Informationen verbreitet haben soll, die das Vertrauen in staatliche Institutionen mindern. ...

Wettrennen unter Wasser

03.12.2014 von Till Fähnders, Singapur (FAZ) - In den vergangenen Jahren hat China eine beachtliche U-Boot-Flotte aufgebaut. Aus Furcht ziehen nun viele südostasiatische Länder nach und rüsten ihre Seestreitkräfte ebenfalls auf. ...

Vietnam’s Migrant Masses Disappearing Into Shadow Economy: Jobs

03.12.2014 Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (Washington Post) - Vietnam, heralded a decade ago as a mini-China in luring foreign manufacturers with cheap labor, is struggling to keep its economic momentum even as neighboring countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines record faster growth. The nation is showing signs of slipping into a low-productivity, low-value trap as workers leave formal jobs in industry and services, the United Nations Development Program said earlier this year. ...

VIETNAM | Detenido el bloguero Hong Le Tho por "abusar de las libertades democráticas"

02.12.2014 (RSF) - Reporteros Sin Fronteras condena la detención de Hong Le Tho, un bloguero vietnamita de origen japonés, en Ho Chi Minh. El Ministerio de Seguridad Pública vietnamita le ha detenido por publicar "mal contenido e información incorrecta que reducen la confianza en las agencias del estado". ...

Another blogger arrested for “abusing democratic freedoms”

02.12.2014 (RWB) - Reporters Without Borders condemns the Vietnamese public security ministry’s arrest of Hong Le Tho, a Vietnamese blogger of Japanese origin, in Ho Chi Minh City for posting “bad content and incorrect information that reduce trust in state agencies.” ...

La vague d’arrestations pour “abus des libertés démocratiques” se poursuit

02.12.2014 (RSF) - Le ministère de la Sécurité publique a arrêté le 29 novembre le blogueur Hong Le Tho, pour avoir posté un “mauvais contenu et des informations incorrectes qui réduisent la confiance envers les services d’Etat". ...

Rights Groups Urge Vietnam to Free Detained Blogger

02.12.2014 (VOA) - Local and foreign groups have asked Vietnam to release a blogger who was arrested for allegedly posting “bad content” and “false information” to the Internet. Hong Le Tho, also known by his blogger name Nguoi Lot Gach, or "Brick Layer," was detained recently on anti-state charges. Tho’s blog has been inaccessible since his arrest. ...

Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders against Modern Slavery

02.12.2014 (Radio Vaticana) - “We, the undersigned, are gathered here today for a historic initiative to inspire spiritual and practical action by all global faiths and people of good will everywhere to eradicate modern slavery across the world by 2020 and for all time. In the eyes of God, each human being is a free person, ...

Vietnamese blogger detained on anti-state charges

02.12.2014 (CPJ) - Bangkok - An independent blogger was detained in Vietnam on Saturday on anti-state charges for online postings deemed critical of the government, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest and calls on Vietnam's government to cease its campaign of persecution against journalists and bloggers. Police arrested Hong Le Tho, also known by his blog name Nguoi Lot Gach, or "Brick Layer," ...

UNHCR Expresses 'Deep Concern' Over Vietnamese Montagnards

02.12.2014 Kong Sothanarith (VOA) - PHNOM PENH — International concern is growing over the fate of a group of Vietnamese Montagnards thought to be hiding in Cambodia. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees expressed “deep concern” Tuesday over reports that Cambodian authorities are looking for the group “with a view to deporting them to Vietnam.” ...

Vietnam CSOs' Message on International Human Rights Day - Dec 10, 2014

02.12.2014  (VRNs) - Saigon - The authorities of Communist dictatorship in Hanoi have restricted or deprived of the fundamental human rights of Vietnamese people set forth in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Civil rights, Political, Cultural, Economic and Social although Vietnam has signed and pledged to observe. The restriction and deprivation are both applied in the law and out of the law. ...

Detenido en Vietnam un bloguero por contenidos contrarios al estado

02.12.2014 (ABC.es) - Bangkok (EFE) - Las autoridades de Vietnam han detenido a un bloguero, crítico con las reclamaciones territoriales de China, por publicar contenidos contrarios a los intereses del Estado, informó hoy la prensa local. Hong Le Tho, de 65 años, fue arrestado el sábado en su casa en Ciudad Ho Chi Minh (antigua Saigon) por violar el artículo 258 ...

Ho Duy Hai, given a death sentence without being proven guilty ?

01.12.2014 (VRNs) – Australia – Ho Duy Hai is a former student (born 1985) sentenced to death for allegedly killing two female postal workers at Cau Voi Post Office, Thu Thua District, Long An, South Viet Nam, in March 2008.

Many articles have been written about the case and stated that Ho Duy Hai is not the culprit, there was no convincing evidence to convict Ho Duy Hai, ...

Vietnam arrests anti-China blogger for posting 'bad content'

01.12.2014 (asiaone) - HANOI - Vietnamese police said they had arrested a blogger for posting "bad content" about the government, as part of a long-running crackdown on online dissent in the communist country. Hong Le Tho, 65, was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday for posting articles ...

Un blogueur arrêté au Vietnam

01.12.2014 (Le Figaro) - Un blogueur vietnamien a été arrêté par la police pour avoir posté sur Internet de "mauvaises informations" sur le gouvernement, nouvelle étape de la campagne de répression contre la dissidence en ligne dans le pays communiste. Hong Le Tho, 65 ans, a été arrêté avant-hier à Ho Chi Minh-Ville (sud, ex-Saïgon) pour ses articles ayant ...

UNHCR Seeks Meeting With Vietnamese Refugees in Cambodia

01.12.2014 Kong Sothanarith (VOA) - U.N. officials are seeking a meeting with Vietnamese Montagnards in northeast Cambodia, but are waiting for a green light from officials in Phnom Penh. ...

Netizen Report: En Vietnam, informes renuevan temores sobre la suerte del bloguero encarcelado

01.12.2014 Escrito por Netizen Report Team, Traducido por Sonia Ordóñez (Global Voices) - El Netizen Report de Global Voices Advocacy ofrece una instantánea internacional de los retos, victorias y nuevas tendencias en materia de derechos de Internet en todo el mundo. Comenzamos el informe de esta semana en Vietnam, donde nueva información disponible sobre un bloguero encarcelado desde 2011 ha desatado campañas locales y globales pidiendo su liberación....

Undercover in Vietnam - CPJ Series

By Shawn W. Crispin/Southeast Asia Representative

Room for debate frees up but bloggers remain imprisoned

30.09.2014 (CPJ) - Incarcerated for the past six years in poor prison conditions, Nguyen Van Hai has suffered dearly for his critical views on China. First detained on trumped up tax evasion charges in 2008, and subsequently convicted in 2012 on anti-state charges for blogging, 62-year-old Hai is currently serving a 12-year jail term that his family fears could be a death sentence in view of his declining health. ... 

Exile is high price reporters pay for press freedom

29.09.2014 (CPJ) - On December 9, 2012, mainstream journalist and sometimes blogger Pham Doan Trang was arrested while reporting on an anti-China protest in Ho Chi Minh City. She was taken to a rehabilitation camp for commercial sex workers, where she was interrogated by a group of seven officials.  ... 

Reporters become martyrs for their paper's cause

26.09.2014 (CPJ) - In a church compound in the bustling heart of Ho Chi Minh City, journalists and editors upload the latest online edition of Redemptorist News in a secret backroom bureau. First established in 1935, the Catholic newspaper was shut down by the ruling Communist Party in 1975 after consolidating its control over the country's once divided northern and southern regions. Redemptorist News was resurrected and re-launched as an online multi-media platform in 2009 by a group of Catholic priests and activists.  ... 

Bloggers play risky game of cat-and-mouse to report

25.09.2014  (CPJ) - When Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh left her home in the central coastal city of Nha Trang to cover anti-China protests a 10-hour bus ride away in southern Ho Chi Minh City, the prominent blogger disguised her appearance to evade plainclothes officials stationed nearby to monitor her meetings and movements. On the road, Quynh disembarked 10km from her ticketed destination to avoid being detained by police she feared may be waiting for her at the bus station. ...