HomeInh-2015-01

Vietnams keimende Zivilgesellschaft: Protest gegen städtischen Kahlschlag

31.03.2014 (taz) - BERLIN - In Vietnams Hauptstadt Hanoi haben am Sonntag Dutzende Menschen gegen die geplante Abholzung von 6.700 der 29.600 Stadtbäume protestiert. Laut einem Augenzeugen zogen 150 bis 200 Demonstranten mit Schildern, auf denen sie zum Schutz der Bäume aufriefen, durch die Straßen. Die Polizei ließ sie gewähren. Proteste sind in dem autoritären Einparteienstaat selten und aus Angst vor Repression traditionell klein. ...

5-Jährige suchte verzweifelt nach dem Tier, fand es geschlachtet

31.03.2015 (buzz) - Ein Foto von einem trauernden Mädchen hat sich in Vietnam auf Facebook wie ein Lauffeuer verbreitet. Die Aufnahme zeigt die 5-Jährige in Tränen, neben ihr ein toter Hund. ...

In Vietnam, Rampant Wildlife Smuggling Prompts Little Concern

30.03.2015 By Rachel Nuwer (The New York Times) - ... in the previous two weeks, Mr. Luc had caught nine Southeast Asian box turtles and Malayan snail-eating turtles, five elephant trunk snakes, a handful of water birds and two rare Himalayan griffon vultures. For safekeeping, Mr. Luc stashed the vultures in his brother’s house, leaving them tethered in the bedroom until he can figure out what to do with them. ...

Deutsch-vietnamesische Beziehungen: "Man versteht sich einfach"

29.03.2015 Rodion Ebbighausen (dw) - Mit einem Deutschlandfest feierte die deutsche Botschaft am Samstag in Hanoi vier Jahrzehnte Partnerschaft mit Vietnam. Das Fest sollte ein erster Höhepunkt in einer langen Reihe von Veranstaltungen, Ausstellungen und Konzerten sein, die die Beziehungen würdigen. So wollten Botschaft, das Goethe-Institut und der Deutsche Akademische Austauschdiensts (DAAD) auf die Berührungspunkte zwischen Vietnam und Deutschland aufmerksam machen. Berührungspunkte, die wesentlich mit der Geschichte zusammenhängen. ...

Voller Pestizide: Kumquat-Früchte aus Vietnam (+Video)

27.03.2015 (Pforzheimer Zeitung) Hanoi - Auf den Straßen von Hanoi fahren Motorräder beladen mit Kumquat-Bäumen. Die Früchte gelten in Vietnam traditionell als Symbol für Reichtum und mit Zucker kandiert als Delikatesse.

Aber in diesem Jahr verzichten viele auf den Verzehr von Kumquats, sie befürchten gesundheitliche Schäden ...

Indonesian president says China's main claim in South China Sea has no legal basis

23.03.2015 By Kanupriya Kapoor and Linda Sieg JAKARTA/TOKYO (Reuters)- Indonesian President Joko Widodo said one of China's main claims to the majority of the South China Sea had no legal basis in international law, but Jakarta wanted to remain an "honest broker" in one of Asia's most thorny territorial disputes. ...

Südkoreas LG Elektronikkonzern verschiebt seine TV-Produktion von Thailand nach Vietnam

23/03/2015 (ThailandTIP) - pp Rayong. Der bekannte Südkoreanische Elektronikkonzern LG „Lucky Goldstar“ will im April 2015 in Thailand seine Produktion von TV-Geräten einstellen und nach Vietnam verlagern. Das Werk befindet sich in Rayong und produziert etwa 600.000 Fernsehgeräte pro Jahr. Im April soll dann das letzte TV-Gerät vom Band laufen. ...

Vietnamese Former Political Prisoner Honored with Norwegian Authors Union Freedom of Expression Prize

22.03.2015 By Vu Quoc Ngu (Defend the Defenders) - Vietnamese writer Nguyen Xuan Nghia, who is currently under three-year house arrest, has been honored with the Freedom of Expression Prize of the Norwegian Authors’ Union for his writings which aims to promote multi-party democracy and human rights.

Mr. Nghia, 64, is a poet, writer and journalist. He is a member of the Haiphong  Writers’ Association and one of co-founding members of the 8406 Bloc, a banned pro-democracy organization in Vietnam. ...

Vietnam CSOs’ Open Letter to 132th Congress of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Hanoi (Mar 28 – Apr 1, 2015)

22.03.2015 Translation by Trang Thien Long (Defend the Defenders) - We, Vietnam independent civil society organizations, know that IPU is to protect and promote Human Rights because Human Rights are the core element of building democracy in Parliamentary and development for any country. Unfortunately, The National Assembly of the Republic of Socialist Vietnam, under the leadership of dictatorship Vietnam Communist Party (VCP), is just a shield for the Communist Party’s Human Rights abuses....

Aussie hero saving trafficked Vietnamese kids sold as sex slaves

22.03.2015 (news.com.au) - Sleeping rough on the street before being picked up and exploited by traffickers, these are the children the world ignores. But an Australian hero has made it his life’s work to rescue and protect Vietnam’s forgotten street kids. ...

226 Vietnamese Die in Police Detaining Facilities in 2011-2014: Police General

21.03.2015 By Vu Quoc Ngu (Defend the Defenders) - As many as 226 Vietnamese suspected of committing crimes were found dead during detention in police stations between Oct 1, 2011 and Sept 30, 2014, said Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Luong of Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security. ...

Vietnamese community mourns the passing of Malcolm Fraser

21.03.2015 Liam Mannix (WA Today) - For much of his life, Phong Nguyen has felt as though he had two fathers.

He barely knew his own father, who spent 13 years in a North Vietnamese hard-labour camp. They were reunited later in life in Australia – before Huong Xuan Nguyen passed away a few months ago at the age of 84.

When Malcolm Fraser died at the same age, early on Friday morning, Mr Nguyen mourned a second time. ...

The Vietnamese refugee with so much to thank former prime minister Malcolm Fraser for

21.03.2015 Tim Barlass (The Sydney Morning Herald) - Malcolm Fraser was the greatest Australian prime minister for human rights, compassion and social justice, former asylum seeker says.

Released in 1978, Dr Tien Manh Nguyen tried unsuccessfully to flee the country several times before finally escaping in 1980 in a small boat with his fiancee and her 13-year-old brother who had to leave their sick mother behind. ...

Vietnam capital U-turns on tree felling after public outcry

20/03/2015 (Townhall) - HANOI (Reuters) - Political leaders of Vietnam's capital halted the felling of thousands of Hanoi's trees on Friday after the plan sparked public outrage and fears it would damage the image of one of the world's most picturesque cities. ...

Vietnam’s Capital City Backtracks on Tree Removal Plan Following Public Outcry

20/03/2015 (RFA) - Authorities in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on Friday reversed a plan to remove thousands of trees lining the city’s thoroughfares after residents took to the streets in a rare protest and slammed the move in an online campaign. ...

Danish-Vietnamese artist Danh Vo awarded the DKK 100,000 ARKEN Prize 2015

20.03.2015 (artdaily) - SKOVVEJ .- This year’s winners of The ARKEN Prize and Travel Grants offer grand narratives scattered in a thousand parts, vulnerable spelling mistakes and playful urban spaces. On 19 March the prizes were awarded for the tenth time in a festive presentation at ARKEN.

This year’s recipient of the ARKEN Prize of DKK 100,000 was Danh Vo, while the two travel grants of DKK 50,000 went to Gudrun Hasle and Karoline H Larsen. The ARKEN Art Prize and Travel Grant are donated by Annie & Otto Johs. Detlefs’ Philanthropic Foundation. ...

Drei Romane aus Vietnam - Über die Hölle ist viel Gras gewachsen

20.03.2015 Katharina Borchardt (NZZ) - Mit der Einnahme von Saigon durch nordvietnamesische Truppen endete 1975 der Vietnamkrieg. Der Autor Bao Ninh war damals aufseiten des Vietcong dabei, und er lässt auch Kien, die Hauptfigur seines Romans «Die Leiden des Krieges», an der finalen Erstürmung des Saigoner Flughafens teilnehmen. Den Vietnamkrieg haben Lê und Thúy als Kinder erlebt. In ihren Büchern spielt er daher nur eine randständige Rolle: als chaotische, entbehrungsreiche Zeit, in der vor allem die Elterngeneration gelitten hat. ...

The "Vietnamese model", a dangerous practice that does not solve the real problems of the Church

19.03.2015 By J. B. An Dang (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - The "Vietnamese model" for episcopal appointments is cumbersome, often not respected and does not stop the government from plundering the Church of its properties. As long as repressive religious policies are still in place, Catholics are not truly free. ...

China needs to 'purchase' friendships, scholar says

19.03.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - BEIJING -- China's foreign policy scholars generally fall into two camps: "realists" and "liberals." The former tend to prioritize national interests and power. The latter are more ideological. And under the government of President Xi Jinping, the realists are said to have gained influence. ...

PLA fears of 'Vietnamese invasion' halt Chinese city government's road construction project

19.03.2015 Stephen Chen (SCMP) - China’s People’s Liberation Army halted a city government’s road construction project on the border with Vietnam last month because of fears it could be used as a shortcut for a “Vietnamese invasion”.

If finished, the road would “definitely become a serious threat to national defence and security”, a PLA officer in charge of border affairs in Fangchenggang city, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s report China’s defence ministry website. ...

El "modelo vietnamita", práctica peligrosa que no resuelve los problemas reales de la Iglesia

19.03.2015 De J. B. An Dang (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - El "modelo vietnamita" para los nombramientos episcopales es una práctica engorroso, a menudo no se respeta y que no  detiene al gobierno en su de saqueo a la Iglesia y su autoridad. Mientras no se cambien las políticas de represión religiosa todavía llevada a cabo  por las autoridades, no se puede pensar que los católicos sean verdaderamente libres. Para ello, proponer Vietnam como un ejemplo para China y para el futuro de las relaciones diplomáticas entre Beijing  y el Vaticano es "muy ingenuo." ...

Vietnam erlaubt Gentechnik-Anbau

19/03/2015 (Informationsdienst Gentechnik) - In Vietnam könnte demnächst gentechnisch veränderter Mais angebaut werden. Die insektengift-produzierende und Spritzmittel-resistente Variante Bt11 x GA21 habe vom Umweltministerium grünes Licht bekommen ...

Vietnam reports outbreak of H5N6 bird flu virus - OIE

19/03/2015 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - PARIS - Vietnam reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu virus in a village in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, ...

Vietnam: Church leaders Say Government Drafting New Religious Law

18.03.2015 By Janelle Powers (Open Doors USA) - Church leaders from north Vietnam say the government is open to the possibility of reforming Decree 92, the restrictive edict on religion implemented countrywide in 2013.

“The government seems to be loosening a bit on religion, but not on human rights issues,” Wang*, a church leader from the north, tells Open Doors.

“The government is observing how other governments relate with organized religion inside and outside the country. They somehow realized that it will be to their advantage if they start practicing leniency.” Pastor Jonathan, Wang’s colleague, adds. ...

Tony Abbott defends $11bn cut to foreign aid during Vietnamese PM's visit

18.03.2015 Calla Wahlquist (The Guardian) - Tony Abbott has defended his government’s decision to cut Australia’s foreign aid budget by $11bn at a joint press conference with the Vietnamese prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung. ...

Syngenta erhält Zulassung für Mais-Saatgutsorte in Vietnam

18.03.2015 (NZZ) - Zürich (awp) - Der Agrochemiekonzern Syngenta hat in Vietnam eine Zulassung für das Double-Stack-Maissaatgut Bt11 x GA21 erhalten. Dieses Double-Stack werde somit für die Anbausaison 2015/2016 verfügbar sein, teilte Syngenta am Dienstag mit. ...

Abbott has a habit of honouring authoritarians. Will Vietnam be different?

17.03.2015 Elaine Pearson (The Guardian) - When Australian prime minister Tony Abbott meets his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung in Canberra this week will he simply praise Vietnam’s economic progress while staying silent about its deplorable human rights situation? It’s all too likely. Our “friends” shouldn’t get off so easily. Vietnam is one of the world’s few remaining one-party communist states. ...

Chinas neue Entwicklungsbank spaltet den Westen

17.03.2015 Von Felix Lee (Zeit Online) - In der Chinapolitik zieht der Westen schon lange nicht mehr an einem Strang. Washington und Berlin sprechen auf Staatsbesuchen in Peking Menschenrechtsverletzungen immerhin an und setzen sich für verhaftete Dissidenten ein. ...

Drone Captures Jaw-Dropping Footage Inside Hang Son Doong, The World's Largest Cave

17.03.2015 By Dominique Mosbergen (The Huffington Post) - Hang Son Doong in Vietnam is the largest cave in the world. It's more than 5.5 miles long, comes complete with its own jungle and river ...

Vietnamese Photojournalist Continues Hunger Strike After Four Years Behind Bars

16.03.2015 (Global Voices) - Young photo journalist Minh Man Dang Nguyen has been on hunger strike for prolonged periods of time in recent months to protest the ill-treatment she has received while in detention in Vietnam. As a result of her repeated hunger strikes, she recently weighed only 35 kg. ...

Vietnam Remains Concerned Country for Freedom of Religion: UN Rapporteur

16.03.2015 By KTT (Defend the Defenders) - Vietnam has remained among concerned countries for freedom of religion regarding violence given to religious followers, United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief said in a report....

Unidentified assailants attack Vietnamese human rights lawyer at end of house arrest

16.03.2015 Mark Yapching (Christian Today) - A human rights lawyer and activist in Vietnam was attacked by unidentified suspects outside his home.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Vietnamese lawyer Nguyen Van Dai was threatened by "thugs" outside his home on March 5. ...

Open Letter Asks UN Human Rights Council to Probe Abuses in Vietnam

16.03.2015 (Global Voices) - An open letter signed by 27 groups and 163 individuals is asking the United Nations Human Rights Council to probe the human rights abuses committed by the Vietnamese government. ...

US, China heading toward face-off, says Mearsheimer

16.03.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- If China continues to grow economically and militarily, the possibility of armed conflict in Asia will grow as countries such as Japan and the U.S. step up their security efforts, says John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. ...

Vietnam: Little Girl’s Pet Dog Now Dog Meat

15.03.2015 (saynotodogmeat.net) - If you remember what it was like to lose your first ever pet, you can feel for this little Vietnamese girl. Look at the tender embrace she is giving the dog, who she is clearly distraught about. Do her tears cut straight to your heart? ...

Hanoi-based Activist Attacked by Plain Clothes Agents after Participating in Gac Ma Commemoration

15.03.2015 By Vu Quoc Ngu (Defend the Defenders) - Vu Quoc Ngu, an human rights activist in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, has been beaten by local plain clothes agents while returned from a meeting to pay a tribute to the fallen soldiers killed by China in Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef) in the city’s center. ...

Protest Letter from the Interfaith Council of Vietnam

about the Thua Thien-Hue province government’s ban on the meeting of the Invalid Soldiers of Republic of Vietnam at Phuoc Thanh pagoda in Hue City

14.03.2015 (VRNs) - On the morning of March 10th 2015, the communist authorities of Thua Thien-Hue province came to meet the monks at Phuoc Thanh Pagoda (on Phan Chu Trinh Street) and forced them to cancel the meeting of “Tri ân Quý Thương binh VNCH” (Gratitude to the Invalid Soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam) that will be held on March 15th, with the presence of the Interfaith Council of Vietnam.  The communist government says that the meeting is not good and so it is not permitted. If the meeting is still held, the government will ban it with the force. ... 

Going to debt mountain - Working abroad is no bargain

14.03.2015 (The Economist) - Than Thi Hang is a daughter of Tan Lieu farmers. She flew to Taiwan when she was 18. Assembling mobile phones on 12- and 16-hour graveyard shifts was “easier than farming”, she says. Yet to finance the trip, her family borrowed close to $5,000 to pay a labour broker. Ms Hang spent more than a year nervously working off her debts. ...

Most of Taiwan's naturalized citizens come from Vietnam

14.03.2015 (Focus Taiwan) - Taipei (CNA). Nearly eight out of 10 newly naturalized citizens of Taiwan come from Vietnam and more than 91 percent of Taiwan's new nationals in 2014 were spouses from other countries, the Ministry of the Interior said Saturday. ...

How tourism completely changed this Vietnamese baker’s life

14.03.2015 by Jarryd Salem (Matador Network) - Between the walls of a nondescript timber building in Tan Hoa, a young man named Trung vigorously kneads his dough mix. He keeps one eye on the clock hanging above the unhinged door. In three minutes his latest batch of baguettes will be ready, and he’ll have to begin baking his next lot. ...

Anh Ba Sam’s news blog marches on despite his arrest

13.03.2015 Đoan Trang (phamdoantrang.com) -   One day last May in Hanoi, Vietnamese police launched a sudden raid into the house and business of a long-famous blogger, Nguyen Huu Vinh, better known as Anh Ba Sam (meaning Brother Gossiper). Vinh and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, a mother of seven-year-old twin children, were detained immediately. ...

Vietnam - Country of Concern

13.03.2015 (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) - In 2014, Vietnam’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and engagement with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process provided an opportunity to show its commitment to improving human rights. However, significant concerns remained in the UK’s priority areas for engagement in Vietnam: freedom of expression and the death penalty. ...

Exclusive from Hanoi: where freedom of speech is like gold-dust

13.03.2015 Marianne Brown (Newsnet.scot, audio report & transcription) - As Western society anguishes over human rights and freedom of speech in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo murders, government critics in Vietnam enjoy no such luxury. Many are persecuted and imprisoned with little prospect of a fair trial. Here in Vietnam, for some families “je ne suis pas” is not an option....

It turns out communist Vietnam loves capitalism more than the US does

13.03.2015 Patrick Winn  (GlobalPost) - HANOI, Vietnam — An authoritarian communist party controls Vietnam. It's true. But its founding ideology appears all but gone from the hearts of Vietnam's people. Vietnam, in fact, may actually be one of the most pro-capitalist countries on Earth. ...

Hanoi setzt Denkmal

13.03.2015 (Der Farang) - HANOI (dpa) : Im Klima wachsender Spannungen zwischen den kommunistischen Nachbarländern China und Vietnam lässt Hanoi ein Denkmal für Soldaten bauen, die im Kampf gegen China gefallen sind. ... 

L’archevêque de Saigon mobilise son diocèse pour la protection de l’environnement

12.03.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - Dans un récent communiqué à l’ensemble des prêtres et fidèles dont il a la charge, l’archevêque de Saigon rappelle cet appel du pape et, à l’occasion du Carême, invite les fidèles à s’engager dans une campagne active pour la protection de l’environnement de la métropole du Sud-Vietnam. ...

Vietnam baut Bio-Gemüseproduktion aus

12.03.2015 (Gärtner + Florist Online) - Versuchsanbau zeigt vielversprechende Ergebnisse. Auf einer Farm in der Stadt Phu Van, Region Phu Ly, wurde über 6 Monate hinweg eine Anbau-Methode für Bio-Gemüse getestet. ...

Internetzensur: Journalisten bringen Seiten wieder ins Netz

12.03.2015 (derStandard.at) - Berlin - Die Journalistenvereinigung Reporter ohne Grenzen (ROG/RSF) will zehn Websites in Staaten mit Internet-Zensur wieder ins Netz bringen. Reporter ohne Grenzen kopierte die Seiten und stellt sie über die Speicherdienste großer Internet-Anbieter zur Verfügung. So will die Organisation verhindern, dass die gespiegelte Variante der Webseiten gleich wieder von Zensoren vom Netz genommen wird. ...

Welttag gegen Internetzensur

12.03.2015 von Anna Biselli (netzpolitik) - Heute ist Welttag gegen Internetzensur. Aus diesem Anlass hat Reporter ohne Grenzen neun in elf Ländern gesperrte Webseiten gespiegelt und damit wieder zugänglich gemacht. ...

Collateral Freedom, foiling censorship in 11 anti-Internet countries

12.03.2015 (RSF) - To combat online censorship, Reporters Without Borders is unblocking access to 9 news websites in order to make them available in the 11 countries where they are currently banned. ...

Collateral Freedom, la censure mise en échec dans 11 pays Ennemis d’Internet

12.03.2015 (RSF) - Pour lutter contre la censure en ligne, RSF a lancé une opération de déblocage de 9 sites d’information censurés dans 11 pays, les rendant accessibles depuis les territoires où ils sont aujourd’hui prohibés. ...

Collateral Freedom, la censura a prueba en 11 países Enemigos del Internet

12.03.2015 (RSF) - Para luchar contra la censura en internet, RSF lanzó une operación de desbloqueo de 9 sitios de informaciones censurados en once países, volviendolos accesibles desde los  territorios donde hoy en día estan prohibidos. ...

Chine, Vietnam, Russie : RSF débloque des sites censurés dans une dizaine de pays

12.03.2015 (Romandie) Paris - Reporters sans frontières (RSF) a débloqué neuf sites d'information censurés dans 11 pays ennemis d'internet en les rendant accessibles depuis ces mêmes territoires où ils sont généralement prohibés, dont la Chine, la Russie ou le Vietnam, a annoncé jeudi l'ONG. ...

Philippine Justice Carpio Urges Diplomacy in S. China Sea Disputes

12.03.2015 By Basten Gokkon (Jakarta Globe) - Jakarta. Justice Antonio T. Carpio, the senior associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday that convincing China to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) remained the biggest challenge in tackling the South China Sea disputes. ...

Vietnam making only moderate progress on religious freedom: UN

11.03.2015 (ucanews) - Following a visit to Vietnam last year that was marred by harassment and surveillance of religious figures, Heiner Bielefeldt, the UN’s special envoy on religious freedom, said many faith activities in the country remained subject to excessive red tape by the socialist government. ...

Verfolgt in Vietnam

10.03.2015 Josef Bordat (Blog jobo72) - Während die Welt mittlerweile die Verfolgung von Christen in islamisch geprägten Gesellschaften vermehrt zur Kenntnis nimmt – insbesondere wegen der bestialischen Gewalt des Islamischen Staat –, findet in Ost- und Südostasien weitgehend unbeachtet von der Weltöffentlichkeit eine massive Christenverfolgung statt. Zum Beispiel in Vietnam. ...

The Philippines and Vietnam Forge a Strategic Partnership

10.03.2015 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - On January 30, the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario hosted his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh in Manila for the inaugural meeting of the Joint Commission on Concluding a Strategic Partnership. According to a Joint Statement  issued after the talks, the two ministers agreed “on the basis of amity, equality, mutual respect and cooperation… to elevate the level and intensity of bilateral exchanges between the two countries.” ...

Why US should move beyond ASEAN in the South China Sea

09.03.2015 Walter Lohman (Nikkei Asian Review) - At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in late February, its new chairman, John McCain asked Director of Intelligence James Clapper about what he called "dramatic" satellite photos demonstrating Chinese construction in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Clapper, in response, acknowledged the problem of China's "aggressive" pursuit of their "exorbitant claims." ...

China aumenta su presencia internacional pero no busca un nuevo orden mundial

08.03.2015 (EFE) - Pekín - China va a potenciar su presencia internacional este año, incrementando su cooperación con Rusia y buscando un acomodo con Estados Unidos, pero no busca crear un nuevo orden mundial, según aseguró hoy su ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Wang Yi. ...

Vietnams Kommunisten-Chef besucht erstmals USA

06.03.2015 (Reuters) - Hanoi - Erstmals seit Ende des Vietnamkriegs vor 40 Jahren reist ein Kommunisten-Chef des südasiatischen Landes in die USA. Der Besuch von Generalsekretär Nguyen Phu Trong sei für dieses Jahr geplant, sagte der US-Botschafter am Freitag ...

In Djak Pnan, lepers' Catholic faith is stronger than government persecution

06.03.2015 By Thanh Thuy (AsiaNews) - Hanoi -  In a small village in the central highlands, Catholics are subject to constant harassment and abuse by the authorities. Nuns who work for the sick get the same treatment. However, Church support is a source of strength and courage. Mgr Girelli's visit is remembered for bringing Pope Francis' greeting and support. ...

La fe de los católicos de Đak Pnan, enfermos de lepra, más fuerte ante la persecución de Hanoi

06.03.2015 De Thanh Thuy (AsiaNews) - Hanoi -  En un pequeño pueblo en la sierra central, los fieles son objeto de constantes ataques y abusos por parte de las autoridades. Las amenazas y los ataques a las monjas que trabajan por los enfermos. Sin embargo, la proximidad de la Iglesia es una fuente de fortaleza y coraje. La visita de Mons. Girelli, que trajo saludos y cercanía del Papa Francisco. ...

Vietnam party chief to make U.S. trip, still at odds over human rights

06.03.2015 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Communist Party chief will visit the United States this year, Washington's ambassador said on Friday, in a landmark trip underlining a rapid strengthening of ties between former foes still at odds over human rights. ...

Power shifts in Vietnam’s political system

05.03.2015 Author: Le Hong Hiep, ISEAS (East Asia Forum) - In recent years the power of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has increased dramatically. If this trend continues, it may bear important implications for Vietnam’s political outlook. ...

Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU : présentation prochaine d’un rapport sur la liberté religieuse au Vietnam

05.03.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - L’année dernière, le Rapporteur spécial sur la liberté de religion ou de conviction de l’ONU, Heiner Bielefeldt, accomplissait un voyage au Vietnam, du 21 au 31 juillet, pour y mener une enquête sur la situation de la liberté des religions ou des croyances dans ce pays. Ce 1er mars 2015, l’agence vietnamophone, Vietnam UPR... une agence de la diaspora vietnamienne –, annonce que le rapporteur spécial a achevé le compte-rendu de son enquête, et en propose une traduction vietnamienne. ...

‘I Was Under a Lot of Pressure And Had to Quit’

04.03.2015 (RFA) - Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Luong has defended several prisoners of conscience in Vietnam, including young activists Dinh Nguyen Kha and Nguyen Phuong Uyen. However, the rights attorney recently left his practice to become a notary clerk. ...

Aufrüstung und offensivere Aussenpolitik - China zeigt Zähne

04.03.2015 Matthias Müller, Peking (NZZ) - China setzt den eingeschlagenen Weg unbeirrt fort, das Militär weiter aufzurüsten. Die Nachbarländer dürften das offensive aussenpolitische Gebaren Pekings mit Sorge betrachten. In der Region gibt es zahlreiche ungelöste Grenzstreitigkeiten. ...

Vietnam's trade deficit hits USD61b in 2 months

04.03.2015 (MENAFN) According to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the country logged a trade deficit of USD61 million by the end of February, Xinhua reported. ...

Chinas Waffenausgaben gehen steil nach oben - Nachbarländer in Sorge

04.03.2015 (NZZ) - STOCKHOLM (awp international) - Der Wirtschaftsboom und die Sorge über die Übermacht des Westens haben Chinas Waffenausgaben in den vergangenen zehn Jahren in die Höhe schnellen lassen. Zwischen 2004 und 2013 sind die Ausgaben in der Volksrepublik nach Schätzungen um 170 Prozent gestiegen. ...

China rüstet kräftig auf: Militäretat soll um rund zehn Prozent steigen

04.03.2015 (Tiroler Tageszeitung) - Peking – Trotz Sorge in seinen Nachbarländern hat China eine kräftige Aufrüstung seiner Streitkräfte angekündigt. Die Militärangaben würden um «etwa zehn Prozent» steigen, kündigte die Sprecherin des Volkskongresses, Fu Ying, am Mittwoch auf einer Pressekonferenz in der Großen Halle des Volkes in der Hauptstadt Peking an. „Für ein großes Land wie China ist es nötig, dass es sich gut verteidigen kann.“ ...

155 Catholic students denied school access over land dispute

04.03.2015 (AsiaNews) - For six months, the authorities of the district of Ky Anh (Ha Tinh province, central Vietnam) have prevented a group of 155 young Catholics from attending school, depriving them of the right - enshrined in the Constitution - to education. ...

Por una disputa sobre la tierra, negada escuela a 155 estudiantes católicos vietnamitas

04.03.2015 (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Durante seis meses, las autoridades del distrito de Ky Anh (provincia de Ha Tinh, Vietnam central) impiden que un grupo de 155 jóvenes católicos asistan a la escuela, privándolos del derecho - consagrado en la Constitución - a la educación. ...

Analyse: Wettrüsten in Asien

04.03.2015 (Zeit) - Peking (dpa) - Chinas Muskelspiele alarmieren seine Nachbarn. Zwar tat die Sprecherin des Volkskongresses, Fu Ying, die starke Erhöhung der Verteidigungsausgaben um "etwa zehn Prozent" als völlig normal ab, doch verfolgen die Nachbarländer den Aufstieg der chinesischen Militärmacht mit großer Sorge. ...

Vietnam’s Communists Conjure with the Internet

03.03.2015 By David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - The leaders of Vietnam’s Communist Party are groping for answers on whether Facebook is a mortal threat to the party’s grip on power or if it is a new opportunity to communicate with the country’s 90 million citizens. As the party begins a highly political year, with a possibly momentous Party Congress on the horizon), the Facebook phenomenon has risen high on its political agenda. ...

Seven Out of 10 Kids Across Five Asian Nations Experienced Violence at School

03.03.2015 Rishi Iyengar (Time) - Seven out of 10 children in Asia have experienced violence in school, a study of over 9,000 students across five countries revealed. Conducted by children’s-rights group Plan under its Promoting Equality and Safety in Schools initiative, the study collected data from male and female students ages 12 to 17, as well as others involved in their education like parents, teachers and headmasters, in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Nepal. ...

Flüchtlingsdrama in Südostasien. Abschiebung von 36 verfolgten Christen nach Vietnam – Kambodscha verletzt UN-Flüchtlingskonvention

03.03.2015 (GfbV) - Göttingen - Die Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (GfbV) hat Kambodschas Abschiebung von 36 Christen eines verfolgten indigenen Volkes nach Vietnam verurteilt. „Die zwangsweise Abschiebung der Ureinwohner ist eine grobe Verletzung der Flüchtlingskonvention der Vereinten Nationen, da den Flüchtlingen in Vietnam akute Gefahr für Leib und Leben droht“, erklärte der GfbV-Asienreferent Ulrich Delius am Dienstag in Göttingen. ...

Amnesty International Report 2014/15 - Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

03.03.2015 (AI) - Severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly continued. The state continued to control the media and the judiciary, as well as political and religious institutions. ...

Le Rapport 2014/15 d’Amnesty International - République socialiste du Viêt-Nam

03.03.2015 (AI) - Cette année encore, les droits à la liberté d'expression, d'association et de réunion pacifique ont fait l'objet de sévères restrictions. L'État contrôlait toujours les médias et l'appareil judiciaire, ainsi que les institutions politiques et religieuses....

El Informe 2014/15 de Amnistía Internacional - República Socialista de Vietnam

03.03.2015 (AI) - Siguieron restringiéndose gravemente las libertades de expresión, asociación y reunión pacífica. El Estado siguió controlando los medios de comunicación y el poder judicial, así como las instituciones políticas y religiosas. ...

China needs to 'purchase' friendships, scholar says

02.03.2015 Interviewed by Nikkei staff writer Ken Moriyasu (Nikkei Asian Review) - BEIJING -- China's foreign policy scholars generally fall into two camps: "realists" and "liberals." The former tend to prioritize national interests and power. The latter are more ideological. And under the government of President Xi Jinping, the realists are said to have gained influence. ...

Illuminations bathe Ho Chi Minh in light, but nuclear project looms on horizon

02.03.2015 Michiko Yoshii (The Asahi Shimbun) - ... I asked Duc, a 38-year-old worker who handles cargo at a factory, if he was aware of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. "I recall hearing the name," he replied. "But I don't know what it is." He was not the only person I met who was unfamiliar with the Fukushima incident. Mai, a 30-year-old sewing plant worker, said, "I saw the earthquake and tsunami on TV, but I don't know about Fukushima." ...

Vietnam Media Draws Ire for Not Probing Ex-party Chief's Riches

02.03.2015 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - Vietnamese have gone online to criticize the country's media for not investigating the lavishly decorated home of former party chief Nong Duc Manh. A photo published online last month and later removed showed Manh sitting on a golden throne-like chair, elaborately carved with dragon heads for arms. ...

Missing Montagnards Caught, Deported to Vietnam

02.03.2015 (RFA) - Three dozen Montagnards who mysteriously disappeared on a trip from northeastern Cambodia to the country’s capital Phnom Penh were arrested and deported back to Vietnam, witnesses and a human rights activist said. ...

Refugee helper missing

02.03.2015 Phak Seangly and Alice Cuddy (The Phnom Penh Post) - A Cambodian national who was allegedly arrested on Thursday alongside dozens of Montagnard asylum seekers remained missing yesterday, while those sent back to Vietnam were reportedly abused by authorities for their attempted escape. ...

Vietnam verschiebt sein Atomreaktorprogramm neuerlich

01.03.2015 (oekonews.at) - Startdatum zum Bau von Atomkraftwerken weiter nach hinten gerückt

Die Regierung von Vietnam hat das Datum für den Baubeginn ihres ersten Atomreaktors um zwei Jahre von 2017 auf 2019 verschoben. ...

Vietnam - Tradition, Aufschwung und DDR-Kaffee

28.02.2015 von Monique Pierard (MDR) - Die mit Vietnam verbündete DDR-Regierung geriet 1977 in eine "Kaffee-Krise". Die Bohne war für weitere Importe zu teuer. Es blieb nur eine einzige Lösung: Die Regierung musste sich selbst um den Anbau kümmern. Dies geschah Ende der 70er Jahre in Vietnam. ...

Publication des actes (jamais prononcés) d’un colloque sur la souveraineté vietnamienne en mer de Chine méridionale

27/02/2015 (Églises d'Asie) - En 2011, à l’initiative de Mgr Paul Nguyên Thai Hop, responsable de la Commission ‘Justice et Paix’ de l’épiscopat vietnamien, une association catholique, le Club Paul Nguyên Van Binh, avait prévu d’organiser, le 17 septembre de cette année, un colloque intitulé : « Justice et paix en mer d’Orient ». Cette réunion, qui devait se tenir à Saigon, ... .. avait pour but d’informer un large public sur les prétentions expansionnistes de la Chine et les menaces qu’elles représentaient pour la souveraineté vietnamienne en mer de Chine du Sud. Mais, l’avant-veille de la date prévue, un bref communiqué du comité organisateur annonçait son annulation, une décision prise à la demande du Bureau des Affaires religieuses du gouvernement et de celui de Saigon. ...

China’s nine-dash line still infringes international law

27.02.2015 Authors: Huy Duong, and Tuan Pham, UNSW (East Asia Forum) - Suggestions that China could claim historic fishing rights within the nine-dash line misinterpret international law. While Sourabh Gupta’s arguments, outlined in a recent Forum article, relating to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Articles 62 and 123 have been disputed elsewhere, we argue that his argument regarding Article 56 is also incorrect. ...El jefe de la inteligencia de EE.UU. está preocupado por los avances marítimos de China

27.02.2015 (euronews) - Washington (EFE).- El director nacional de Inteligencia de EEUU, James Clapper, mostró hoy su preocupación por los avances de China en zonas marítimas frente a sus vecinos, especialmente con las islas artificiales que está creando como plataformas aéreas. ...

U.S.: China is expanding its South China Sea outposts

27.02.2015 (Mainichi) - WASHINGTON (AP) -- China is expanding its outposts in the South China Sea to include stationing for ships and potential airfields as part of its "aggressive" effort to exert sovereignty, the U.S. intelligence chief said Thursday. ...

5 Vietnamese nationals arrested for human smuggling

27.02.2015 (Mainichi) - Five Vietnamese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling other Vietnamese people into Japan to have them work as they raked off much of their wages, investigative sources said. ...

Vietnamese pair get suspended sentences for Gifu goat thef

27.02.2015 (The Asahi Shimbun) - GIFU--A court here handed down suspended sentences on Feb. 27 to two Vietnamese who stole and ate goats that were kept in a park in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture. ...

Humanitäre Großtaten

26.02.2015 Von Jochen Arntz (Frankfurter Rundschau) - Rupert Neudeck erhält den Bürgerpreis der deutschen Zeitungen. Man vergisst das ja leicht: Aber Rupert Neudeck, der sein Leben lang so vielen Menschen geholfen hat zu überleben, der Mann, der an diesem Donnerstag in Berlin den Bürgerpreis der deutschen Zeitungen bekommen hat, er ist – ein Journalist. Also ein Mensch des Wortes und der Tat. Mit der „Cap Anamur“ hat er tausende vietnamesische Flüchtlinge aus dem Südchinesischen Meer gerettet, in den 70ern und 80ern. ...

Vietnamese child slaves labour in UK's clandestine cannabis plantations

26.02.2015 Reuters in London (SCMP) - In recent years, Southwell has specialised in representing a particular kind of client: the young men and boys who are trafficked to Britain from Vietnam to labour on illegal marijuana farms. Often from poor families, many regard the West as a gateway to prosperity. Others leave weighed down by a duty to provide for parents, brothers and sisters back home. ...

Modern Slavery UK: The lawyer

26.02.2015 Author: Katie Nguyen and Liz Mermin (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Philippa Southwell, a criminal defence lawyer at London-based firm Birds Solicitors, specialises in representing victims of trafficking. Most of her clients are Vietnamese ...

U.S. flies most advanced surveillance plane from Philippines

26.02.2015 By Manuel Mogato (Reuters) - MANILA - The United States has begun flying its most advanced surveillance aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, out of the Philippines for patrols over the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday, acknowledging the flights for the first time. ...

South China Sea And Indonesia’s New Maritime Strategy – Analysis

26.02.2015 By Dr. Subhash Kapila (Eurasia Review) - Strategically responding to China’s conflict escalation in South China Sea, newly elected President Widodo announced Indonesia’s New Maritime Strategy in November 2014. ...

The Philippines and Vietnam: Strategic Partners?

26.02.2015 By Julio S. Amador III and Jeremie P. Credo (The Diplomat) - Hanoi and Manila are looking to elevate their relationship further in 2015. The idea of a strategic partnership became stronger during the oil rig row between Vietnam and China. ...

General Pete Piotrowski Says U.S. Alerted North Vietnamese before Bombing Strikes-Authorship Confirmed!

26.02.2015 (TruthOrFiction.com) - Retired U.S. General Pete Piotrowski wrote in his book that the U.S. government alerted the North Vietnamese government about its bombing targets ahead of time. ...

Philippine authorities seize Vietnamese vessel for suspected weapons smuggling

26.02.2015 (IHS Jane's 360) - The Philippine Navy (PN) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) have seized an 84-m Vietnamese cargo vessel suspected of weapons smuggling in the country's southern island province of Sulu. ...

Police nab gang growing cannabis in Greek capital

26.02.2015 (Kathimerini) - Police in Attica on Thursday arrested six suspected members of a cannabis ring – five Vietnamese nationals and one Greek ...

Asiaten kaufen Markt leer : Nach Skandal in China: Itzehoe geht das Milchpulver aus

25.02.2015 (Norddeutsche Rundschau) - Itzehoe - Die Nachfrage ist enorm. Sogar so groß, dass in den vergangenen Monaten in Itzehoe einige Supermarkt-Regale leer blieben. Die Rede ist von Säuglingsnahrung, genauer gesagt Milchpulver. Verantwortlich für die große Nachfrage sind unter anderem in Deutschland lebende Chinesen, die Freunden und Verwandten in der Heimat das Pulver schicken. ...

Größte Flüchtlingskatastrophe seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg

25.02.2015 (Die Zeit) - Nach Einschätzung von Amnesty International sind im vergangenen Jahr rund 57 Millionen Menschen weltweit auf der Flucht gewesen. Das sind sechs Millionen mehr als noch vor zwei Jahren. In Vietnam gehörten die Einschränkung der Rede- und Versammlungsfreiheit zum Alltag. ...

La mort mystérieuse d’un haut cadre communiste

25.02.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - « De mémoire d’homme, jamais, dans la ville de Danang, des obsèques n’avaient rassemblé une telle foule. » Telle est l’observation que l’on pouvait lire dans la presse officielle au lendemain des obsèques de l’ancien secrétaire communiste de la ville, Nguyên Ba Thanh. Celui-ci était surtout connu de la communauté catholique pour le rôle qu’il avait joué dans ...

Is Laos selling its fishermen down the river? (video)

25.02.2015 Author Michael Sullivan (dw) - Laos wants to sell hydropower to energy hungry neighbors such as Thailand and Vietnam. ...

Blutige Tradition (Bilder des Tages)

24.02.2015 (stern) - Nem Thuong, Vietnam. Trotz scharfer Kritik von Tierschutzorganisationen und lokaler Medien bereitet sich das kleine Dorf in der Nähe Hanois auf das traditionelle Schweineschlachtfest vor. ...

In Cambodia, Dozens of Montagnard Asylum-seekers Remain in Hiding

24.02.2015 Robert Carmichael (VOA) - PHNOM PENH — In recent months dozens of ethnic minority Montagnard people from Vietnam have crossed the border into Cambodia complaining of harassment by the Vietnamese authorities. ...

Pig sacrifice festival in Vietnam goes ahead despite opposition

24.02.2015 Hanoi (dpa) - A Lunar New Year festival featuring a pig sacrifice in northern Vietnam went ahead as scheduled Tuesday despite protests from animal rights activists who condemned it as "barbaric". ...

No trademark? Sriracha is cool with that

23.02.2015 By David Pierson (The Seattle Times) - LOS ANGELES — As the cult-hit chili sauce goes mainstream, its Vietnamese refugee creator is watching sales climb and welcomes spinoff products as free advertising for his original Sriracha. David Tran, a Vietnamese refugee who built the pepper empire from nothing, never trademarked the term, opening the door for others to develop their own sauce or seasoning and call it Sriracha. ...

Controversial Vietnamese Photo Taken Offline After Backlash

23.02.2015 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - One of Vietnam's top daily newspapers has removed a photo, reportedly taken inside the gold-plated home of a former party chief, after it sparked outcry on social networks. ...

Christliche Asylbewerber verhaftet

23.02.2015 Von Michael Lenz (Der Farang) - PHNOM PENH: Fünf Asylbewerber der christlichen Montagnards aus Vietnam sind in Kambodschas Provinz Ratanakkiri verhaftet worden. Unter den Festgenommen waren auch drei Kinder. ...

Floods, storms and heat projected to cost SE Asia $34bln per year

23.02.2015 Author: Alisa Tang (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - BANGKOK - Falling crop yields, damage to infrastructure and heat-related illnesses brought on by climate change could cost the four Southeast Asian countries of the lower Mekong River basin $34 billion per year, researchers say. ...

Rising number of migrant children abandoned by their parents and the government

20.02.2015 (AsiaNews) - Seoul - About 90 children were abandoned in Seoul alone in 2014, mostly children born to undocumented foreigners, without access to South Korea's welfare system. A Christian group has been trying to find a solution, but lacks the legal and financial means to meet the challenge. The case of Mai, a 23-year-old Vietnamese woman who left her abusive South Korean husband who had bought her for use as a domestic slave, has shaken the South Korean public. ...

Corea, crecimiento de hijos de migrantes abandonados por los padres y por el gobierno

20.02.2015 (AsiaNews) - Seoul - Solamente en el año 2014 se verificaron unos 90 casos de abandonos: se trata de niños nacidos de extranjeros, sin documentos y sin cobertura social nacional. Un grupo cristiano intenta una solución, pero sin medios legales o fondos el desafío parece imposible. El caso de Mai, vietnamita de 23 años que se escapó del marido coreano que la había comprado para usarla como esclava doméstica, sacude a la opinión pública. ...

Chinas Diplomatie mit dem Bagger

20.02.2015 Autor Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) -  Bomber-Pisten im Südchinesischen Meer? Das Südchinesische Meer ist zurzeit nicht in den Schlagzeilen, aber die Ruhe täuscht: China setzt immer stärker auf den Bau künstlicher Inseln, um im Territorialstreit mit seinen Nachbarn Fakten zu schaffen. ...

Peu avant le Têt, les autorités ont arrêté plusieurs blogueurs et militants pour «activités anti-étatiques»

20.02.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - Dans les jours précédant le Nouvel An lunaire, la fête du Têt, célébrée cette année le 19 février, les autorités vietnamiennes ont arrêté et fait condamner plusieurs blogueurs et militants des droits de l’homme pour « activités anti-étatiques ». ...

So geht Komasaufen in Vietnam!

20.02.2015 (news.de) - Freitagabend, das Wochenende wird eingeläutet - so auch in diesem Club in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt in Vietnam. Und natürlich gehört ein Bierchen dazu, wobei es hier nur selten bei einem bleibt. Schließlich ist der Sinn des Trinkens, betrunken zu werden. Exzessiver Alkohol-Konsum gehört zu den Hauptursachen für tödliche Verkehrsunfälle und Lebererkrankungen; ...

Resistenter Malaria-Erreger breitet sich aus

20.02.2015 (HAZ) - Wissenschaftler schlagen Alarm: In Südostasien breitet sich ein Malaria-Erreger aus, der gegen das Standardmedikament Artemisinin resistent ist. In Ländern wie Kambodscha, Thailand und Vietnam sei das ein immer größeres Problem ...

Vietnam: les traditionnels kumquats confits du nouvel an victimes des pesticides

19.02.2015 (L'Express) - Quand arrive le nouvel an lunaire, les familles vietnamiennes achètent un kumquat car cet arbre donnant de petits agrumes est un symbole de prospérité. ...

Ahead of Tet, Vietnamese dissidents weigh in on the country's future

19.02.2015 (ucanews) - Prominent Vietnamese human rights activists have mixed views on the country’s future for democracy as they greet the Lunar New Year Tet holiday this week amid the government’s continued campaign against rights defenders, bloggers and dissidents. ...

The state of human rights in Vietnam - 2014

19.02.2015  (Danlambao) - In 2014, Vietnam officially became a member of the UN Committee on Human Rights (UNCHR). This is also the year of change for the democracy movement in Vietnam when many civil-society organizations (CSO) joined together to operate openly. ...

Lunar New Year a Struggle for Many Vietnamese

19.02.2015 Tra Mi (VOA) - As Vietnamese celebrate the lunar New Year, which they call Tet, many are cutting back on spending because of economic concerns. ...

China to project power from artificial islands in South China Sea

19.02.2015 By Greg Torode, Hong Kong - (Reuters) - China's creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea is happening so fast that Beijing will be able to extend the range of its navy, air force, coastguard and fishing fleets before long, much to the alarm of rival claimants to the contested waters. Reclamation work is well advanced on six reefs in the Spratly archipelago, according to recently published satellite photographs and Philippine officials. ...

Japanese companies investing less in Vietnam

18.02.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - Japan's foreign direct investment in Vietnam dropped last year in both value and the number of projects.

Japanese companies put around $2 billion into Vietnam in 2014, a 65% decline from 2013 ...

Three bloggers get jail terms for “abusing democratic freedoms”

17.02.2015 (RSF) - Reporters Without Borders condemns the sentences ranging from 12 to 18 months in prison that a people’s court in the southern province of Dong Nai imposed last week on three bloggers – Le Thi Phuong Anh, Do Nam Trung and Pham Minh Vu – under criminal code article 258, which penalizes “abusing democratic freedoms.” ...

Vietnamese media make rare move to commemorate war with China

17.02.2015 (dpa) - Hanoi - State media in Vietnam made a rare move of marking the anniversary of a border war with China Tuesday with a series of news articles describing the battles of Vietnamese guerillas. ...

Vietnam Plays Up US Invitation to Communist Party Chief

17.02.2015 Tra Mi (VOA) - Vietnam's state-run media this week featured articles touting an invitation for Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to visit the United States and China this year. ...

Scharf auf Nachahmer

17.02.2015 Von Jürgen Schmieder (Süddeutsche) - Die höllisch scharfe Sriracha-Soße wird gern kopiert, ihrem Erschaffer David Tran ist es recht. Er lässt seine Marke nicht schützen - und hat dafür seine Gründe. Sämtliche Anwälte und Marketingexperten schlagen gerade die Hände über dem Kopf zusammen, aber ihm ist das egal: David Tran ist eben eine der coolsten Personen auf diesem Planeten. ...

Hollande se rendra au Vietnam et en Corée du Sud en 2015

16.02.2015 (Zaman France) - François Hollande a annoncé lundi dans un discours à l'Elysée devant des associations asiatiques qu'il se rendrait en 2015 au Vietnam et en Corée. ...

Drei Aktivisten wegen “staatsfeindlichen Aktivitäten” in Vietnam verurteilt

16.02.2015 (Forum Vietnam 21) -  Unter dem Vorwurf der staatsfeindlichen Aktivitäten sind drei vietnamesische Menschenrechtler zu Gefängnisstrafen verurteilt worden. Das Volksgericht der südlichen Provinz Dong Nai verurteilte in dem halbtägigen Prozess am 12. Febuar die Aktivisten Le Thi Phuong Anh, Do Nam Trung und Pham Minh Vu zu 12, 14 und 18 Monaten Freiheitsstrafe, wie die Vietnamese Redemtorists' News berichtete. Dem Verteidiger Tran Thu Nam zufolge wurde wieder der Artikel 258 des Strafgesetzbuches (“Missbrauch demokratischer Freiheiten gegen das Staatsinteresse”) als Grundlage für das Urteil herangezogen. ...

More Southeast Asian parents investing in their children

16.02.2015 By Kosuke Terai (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- More parents in Southeast Asia are signing up their children for language and music lessons as well as other after-school programs. A survey conducted by American MasterCard in 2014 shows 47% of Thai households have sent children to foreign language classes. The figures were 46% in Vietnam, 21% in Indonesia and 17% in Japan. ...

Vietnam in Top 20 der Länder in denen Christen am stärksten verfolgt und benachteiligt werden

14/02/2014 (Forum Vietnam 21 / Open Doors) - Der von Open Doors im Januar 2015 veröffentlichte Weltverfolgungsindex (WVI) listet die Länder auf, in denen Christen wegen ihres Glaubens am stärksten verfolgt und benachteiligt werden. Mit 68 Punkten liegt Vietnam auf Platz 16 des Weltverfolgungsindex (WVI) 2015. 2014 befand sich Vietnam mit 65 Punkten auf Platz 18. ...

Vietnam’s migrant labourers

14.02.2015 (The Economist) - Once, Vietnamese sought to work in the Soviet Union and its satellites. Today the prime destinations are Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.  The $1.6 billion that migrants send home each year helps a bit to bridge a yawning wealth-gap between rich and poor provinces.

Futaba Ishizuka, a researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies in Japan, says the government lacks the political will to regulate the labour agencies, which are often unlicensed affiliates of state-owned enterprises. ...

Statement by the Spokesperson on the ratification by Vietnam of two key human rights conventions

13.02.2015 (European External Action Service) - Vietnam's recent ratification of both the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a crucial and welcome step. ...

Le nouveau cardinal de Hanoi salue l’attention du pape François pour une Eglise qui a souffert

13.02.2015 (Églises d'Asie) - A la veille de son élévation au cardinalat, l’archevêque de Hanoi, Mgr Pierre Nguyên Van Nhon, a confié à l’agence I.Media que son entrée dans le collège cardinalice le 14 février 2015 était un signe « de reconnaissance et d’attention particulière » du pape François à l’égard d’une Eglise « qui a vécu des temps difficiles ». ... . Confiant ses impressions, il a par ailleurs confessé être à la fois « surpris » et « heureux » de sa nomination. ...

Vietnamese Youth Embrace Environmental Activism

13.02.2015 Marianne Brown (VOA) - HANOI— Vietnam’s transformation from poverty to a fast growing economy has taken its toll on the environment, but those who will be worst affected - young people - are taking action to change things. The rickety footpath along Long Bien Bridge, one of Hanoi’s most famous landmarks, is lined with people wearing matching T-shirts. They call themselves “The Carp Team” and carry posters stating, “don’t drop nylon bags with the fish.” ...

Popular Vietnamese communist party official dies

13.02.2015 (Bangkok Post) - HANOI - A widely admired senior figure in Vietnam's ruling communist party, Nguyen Ba Thanh, who enjoyed rare personal popularity in a nation better known for bureaucratic apparatchiks, died Friday from cancer, an official said. ...

“What happens to the people left behind?”: Rory Kennedy on her Oscar-nominated “Last Days in Vietnam”

13.02.2015 Elias Isquith (Salon) - Filmmaker tells Salon about a complicated, overlooked moment in U.S. history, and its implications for the future (the story behind “Last Days in Vietnam,” the Academy Award-nominated 2014 documentary from filmmaker Rory Kennedy). Salon spoke over the phone with Kennedy about the film, its inspiration, what it can tell us about today’s conflicts ...

Can Bold Reforms Propel Vietnam for the Next 30 Years?

13.02.2015 (Economy Watch) - Since the launch of bold economic reforms in 1986, Vietnam has transformed itself from an impoverished and isolated economy into one of the fastest-growing and most open economies in the world. But it should not be complacent. It must undertake decisive and bold productivity reforms to reignite transformational prosperity in the coming decades. In the past few years, the Vietnamese economy has experienced a significant decline in growth. It is no longer a star performer among neighbouring countries. ...

Humans dumped 8 million tons of waste into ocean: study

13.02.2015 (The Japan Times) - MIAMI – Shoddy waste management and littering across the globe likely added 8 million metric tons (17.6 billion pounds) of plastic to the ocean in 2010, posing significant dangers to marine life, scientists said Thursday. The five worst offenders listed in the study published in the journal Science were China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The United States ranked 20th. ...

Millionen Tonnen Plastikmüll gelangen jedes Jahr ins Meer

13.02.2015 (Yahoo Nachrichten) - Jedes Jahr gelangen riesige Mengen an Plastikmüll ins Meer: Laut einer Studie, die im US-Fachmagazin "Science" veröffentlicht wurde, gelangten im Jahr 2010 schätzungsweise acht Millionen Tonnen Plastikmüll in die Ozeane. Die Länder, aus denen der meiste Müll in den Weltmeeren stammt, sind demnach China, Indonesien, die Philippinen, Vietnam und Sri Lanka. ...

Vietnam : trois militants condamnés à la prison

12.02.2015 (Le Figaro) - Trois militants de la société civile vietnamienne Pham Minh Vu, Do Nam Trung et Le Thi Phuong Anh ont été condamné à de la prison ferme aujourd'hui pour des activités contre l'Etat, dans le cadre d'une vague de répression contre la dissidence dans le pays communiste. ...

Vietnamesische Blogger kommen auf Kaution frei

12.02.2015 (Futurezone) - Zwei regierungskritische Blogger sind in Vietnam auf Kaution aus dem Gefängnis freigekommen. Gegen den Blogbetreiber Hong Le Tho und den Autor Nguyen Quang Lap werde jedoch weiter ermittelt, berichteten vietnamesische Medien am Donnerstag. ...

Vietnam jails three activists on anti-state charges

12.02.2015 (ucanews) - AFP, Hanoi - Three Vietnamese activists were jailed for up to a year and a half Thursday on charges of anti-state activity, their lawyer said, in the latest crackdown on dissent in the authoritarian country. The court in southern Dong Nai province found Pham Minh Vu, Do Nam Trung and Le Thi Phuong Anh guilty of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state," ...

Press freedom suffers 'drastic decline' worldwide

12.02.2015 (ucanews) - AFP and ucanews.com - China, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea ranked among the countries with the worst levels of media freedom Media freedom suffered a "drastic decline" worldwide last year, according to watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which released its annual evaluation on Thursday. ...

Rangliste der Pressefreiheit 12.02.2015 (ROG) - Die Rangliste der Pressefreiheit 2015 von Reporter ohne Grenzen zeigt, dass die Lage für Journalisten und unabhängige Medien in der Mehrzahl der Länder im vergangenen Jahr schlechter geworden ist. Die am 12. Februar 2015 veröffentlichte Rangliste der Pressefreiheit vergleicht die Situation für Journalisten und Medien in 180 Staaten und Territorien für den Zeitraum vom 15. Oktober 2013 bis zum 14. Oktober 2014 ...Vietnam allows second blogger to leave jail 12.02.2015 (The Jakarta Post) - Vietnamese authorities have released a second blogger jailed more than two months ago for posting comments deemed critical of the Communist Party in a rare gesture as the country prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which is often an occasion for prisoner amnesties.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City released Hong Le Tho, 65 ...

Vietnam allows partly paralyzed, jailed blogger to go home

11.02.2015 (Business Standard) - A prominent Vietnamese blogger who is partially paralysed and was jailed two months ago for posting articles that oppose the Communist Party said today he was released from prison on medical parole. Blogger and writer Nguyen Quang Lap, 58, said he was still being investigated ...

Eurasian Economic Union, Vietnam Free Trade Zone Deal May Be Signed in 2015

11.02.2015 (Sputnik) - MOSCOW — An agreement concerning a free trade zone between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) could be signed in the first half of 2015, a press service representative from the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) told Sputnik. ...

Chinese adversaries were the most active state-sponsored cyberthreat groups last year

11.02.2015 By Maria Korolov (CSO Online) - Chinese adversaries were the most active state-sponsored cyberthreat groups last year, according to report released today by CrowdStrike, but it was Vietnam, not the U.S., that was its top target. A group CrowdStrike code-named "Goblin Panda" targeted the country because of ongoing disputes over territorial rights in the South China Sea. ...

How Vietnamese rap got political

11.02.2015 Video journalist: Greg Brosnan (BBC) - Vietnam is a communist state where it's not always easy to criticise the government. But a young Vietnamese rapper studying in the United States has launched a scathing criticism of the state using rap music. ...

Vietnamese Anti-Graft Newspaper Fights Back

10.02.2014 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - A Vietnamese anti-graft newspaper has responded strongly to allegations of "abusing democratic freedoms" and “leaking state secrets” in a rare public showdown for the country's tightly controlled media industry....

Why China wants to make Japan 'tremble'

10.02.2015 By Katsuhiko Meshino (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- China appears to be planning to conduct a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3 to mark the 70th anniversary of what it calls Victory over Japan Day. Although Beijing has not made any official announcements, local media reports suggest preparations are underway.

In an article on its website, The People's Daily said the parade will serve four purposes: demonstrate China's military might; make Japan tremble...

Beijing's real targets may in fact be Vietnam and the Philippines, which are in disputes with China over islands in the South China Sea, and Taiwan, which is slated to hold a presidential election in 2016. ...

Vietnam Passes Sham UN Rights Protection

10.02.2015 By Huynh Thuc Vy (Asia Sentinel) - Vietnam’s National Assembly has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which was hailed by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bangkok as “an important step towards ensuring the prevention and prohibition of torture.” But no matter how many international treaties the regime has signed, human rights conditions in the country remain unchanged and in fact, the ratification is only being used as propaganda....

Saigon: Catholic groups in the front line against slavery and human trafficking

09.02.2015 By Thanh Thuy (AsiaNews) - "When I see the poor, the less fortunate, I feel a deep love for them," said Sister An. For this reason, she spends a lot of her time with poor people in the villages around her convent, Cai Nhum, in Cho Lach district, where she has been helping the marginalised for years. ...

Laos Faces Pressure to Stall Decision on Lower Mekong River Dam

09.02.2015 Ron Corben (VOA) - BANGKOK — Laos is facing increasing pressure to delay construction of a 260 megawatt dam on the Lower Mekong River because of concerns about its environmental and social impacts. A gathering last week in Laos highlights the continuing controversy surrounding the project. ...

Vietnam shuts down anti-graft news website

09.02.2015 (Malay Mail Online) HANOI — The website of an outspoken Vietnamese newspaper has had its licence revoked after publishing articles which “abuse freedom and democratic rights,” authorities said today, as part of a growing crackdown on press freedom in the communist country. ...

Vietnam: un site internet anticorruption fermé

09.02.2015 (Le Figaro) - Les autorités vietnamiennes ont révoqué aujourd'hui la licence du site internet d'un journal connu pour sa lutte anticorruption, après la publication d'articles contraires à la "liberté et aux droits démocratiques", un nouvel épisode d'atteinte à la liberté de la presse dans ce pays. ...

Saigón, grupos católicos en primera línea contra el esclavismo y la trata de personas

09.02.2015 De Thanh Thuy (AsiaNews) -  "Cuando veo los pobres, los más desafortunados, siento por ellos un amor profundo". Por esto pasó mucho tiempo con los indigentes de la villas del alrededor del convento. "Cuando elegimos cualquier actividad en el campo social, expresamos finalmente a fondo nuestro amor por los otros y el gozo por los demás". Es cuanto cuenta a Asianews Sor An, nacida el 13 de mayo de 1968 en la villa de An Hiep, distrito de Chao Thanh, en la provincia meridional de Ben Tre, en el sur de Vietnam. ...

Deportees in trouble: relative

09.02.2015 Phak Seangly (The Phnom Penh Post) - A week after being deported, a Christian Montagnard asylum seeker was still being held and beaten by Vietnamese police yesterday, while his wife remained effectively under house arrest, according to a Cambodian relative. ...

Survey: Gay Vietnamese Come Out Early, But Face Battles at Home

08.02.2015 Lien Hoang (VOA) -  Gay Vietnamese are coming out at an early age and doing so in a more welcoming environment, according to a new survey.

Of those who participated in the online study, 78 percent had come out already, and 74 percent recognized their sexual identity between ages 10 and 20. The results are not an accurate sample of Vietnam overall, because the average age of respondents was 22. ...

Cambodia: Blocking Vietnamese from Seeking Asylum

08.02.2015 (HRW) - New York – The Cambodian government should abide by its international obligations not to return Vietnamese and other asylum-seekers to countries where they face persecution. On February 4, 2015, a government official in Rattanakiri province announced that a family of five who were reportedly facing religious persecution in Vietnam had been sent to Vietnam’s Central Highlands. ...

Petition calls for 'Chinese New Year' name change

08.02.2015 By Brianna Roberts (SBS) - Sydney - It’s one of the biggest events on the lunar calendar. But it's not just the Chinese community who celebrate what is widely known as "Chinese New Year".

A number of communities have launched petitions - to have the name changed. ...

The current of discord on the Mekong

07.02.2015 Author: Nhina Le, George Mason University (East Asia Forum) - Trouble may be brewing on the Mekong. The cumulative socio-political and environmental impact of dams on the Mekong raises serious cause for concern. There is a race to the bottom to secure economic growth from a burgeoning hydropower boom in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Meanwhile, China’s increasingly dominant control of water to the north is causing problems with its neighbours. ...

VIETNAM - Bericht über Verstöße gegen Menschenrechte und Religionsfreiheit

07.02.2015 (GlaubeAktuell) - (Hanoi/Fides) – Ein Forum, dem 24 unabhängige vietnamesische und internationale Organisationen angehören veröffentlichte einen Bericht über Menschenrechtsverstöße in Vietnam im Jahr 2014, darunter auch Verstöße gegen die Religionsfreiheit. ...

Hanoi activists launch viral campaign

06.02.2015 By Michael L. Gray (The SecDev Foundation) - For the first time ever in Vietnam, political activists are using viral social media marketing techniques to express dissent online. A brazen campaign has seen dozens of people in Vietnam post selfie photos to their personal Facebook pages holding signs reading “I don’t like the Communist Party of Vietnam.” A Facebook fan page for the campaign was set up on 7 January 2015 and drew thousands of likes and shares. ...

Vietnam - Threats against human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and attack on his home

06.02.2015 (Front Line Defenders) - On 30 January 2015, two unidentified men broke the front door of the apartment of human rights lawyer Mr Nguyen Van Dai in Hanoi, and threatened to burn his home and assault him. He reported the incident to the police. The human rights defender is under house arrest in Hanoi since 2007, serving a four-year sentence that is due to end in March 2015. ...

Mit modifiziertem Fischerboot Diesel von Malaysia nach Vietnam geschmuggelt

06.02.2015 (Wochenblitz) - Surat Thani - Die Küstenwache hat am Dienstag ein umgebautes Fischerboot im Golf von Thailand westlich der Ferieninsel Samui gekapert, in dem rund 50.000 Liter Diesel geschmuggelt wurden. ...

Vietnam shifts tack on land rights, but results yet to be seen

06.02.2015 By Marianne Brown (dpa) Hanoi - Vietnam has softened its line on forced land requisitions, which are essential for some development projects, but a source of discontent and potential instability. But the impact of recent reforms has yet to be seen. ...

‘Nipped and Tucked’ from Translation: Censorship in Vietnam

06.02.2015 By Helen Clark (The Diplomat) - Censorship in Vietnam is a common topic for the foreign press and rights organizations like Human Rights Watch or the Committee to Protect Journalists. Though both have done good and painstaking work, what gets out to the public is often a macro look at censorship: the locking up of bloggers or blocking of various websites. ...

Vietnam: How the Communist Grinches Stole Christmas

06.02.2015 By Michael Benge (Frontpage Mag) - Since the fall of Saigon in 1975 and the subsequent installation of a totalitarian communist government, Vietnam has become one of the world’s most egregious violators of basic human rights – including the freedom to practice one’s religion. ...

Vietnam’s Arrests of Executives for ‘Economic Crimes’ Seen as Selective

06.02.2015 (RFA) - The Vietnamese government for the first time has said it “has no choice” but to arrest businesspeople for committing “economic crimes,” although it is widely believed in Vietnam that selective law enforcement is motivated by Communist Party politicians who use businesspeople as pawns in their internal squabbles, sources familiar with the situation said. ...

Vietnam plans to relocate 26,000 from Hanoi's Old Quarter

06.02.2015 By Tan Qiuyi (Channel NewsAsia) - HANOI: Vietnam is planning to ease the squeeze in Hanoi's historic Old Quarter by trying to relocate more than 26,000 residents away from the area in the next five years.

The move in the capital city of more than 5.6 million people comes amid rapid population growth. ...

ASIEN/VIETNAM - Bericht über Verstöße gegen Menschenrechte und Religionsfreiheit

05.02.2015  (Fides) - Hanoi – Ein Forum, dem 24 unabhängige vietnamesische und internationale Organisationen angehören veröffentlichte einen Bericht über Menschenrechtsverstöße in Vietnam im Jahr 2014, darunter auch Verstöße gegen die Religionsfreiheit. ...

Vietnamese Seeking Justice Plan to Spend Tet in Hanoi

05.02.2015 (RFA) - Tet Nguyen Dan is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture, marking the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese variation of the Chinese lunar calendar. It runs from Feb. 17-20 this year. But some of the thousands of people gather almost daily outside various government offices in the capital Hanoi, hoping to get a chance to talk or submit letters to petition officials about the homes they have lost in illegal confiscations. ...

Vietnam ‘hurt’ by Senate bill commemorating ‘Black April Day’

05.02.2015 Kim Mackrael, Ottawa (The Globe and Mail) - The Prime Minister of Vietnam has written directly to Stephen Harper to register his concern over a private member’s bill that would declare April 30 an official day to commemorate the exodus of South Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon. ...

Vietnam: CSOs Issue Report on Religious Freedom, Prisoners of Conscience

04/02/2015 (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) - 24 independent Vietnamese civil society organisations (CSOs), have co-signed a report drawing attention to human rights abuses in Vietnam in 2014, including violations against the right to freedom of religion or belief. ...

Schmuggelware in Vietnam: Behörden vergraben Hunderte Katzen - teils lebendig

04.02.2015 (Spiegel Online) - Hanoi -Mit einer Ladung von drei Tonnen lebender Katzen ist ein Lkw-Fahrer in die vietnamesische Hauptstadt Hanoi gefahren. Behörden beschlagnahmten die geschmuggelten Tiere. Behörden in Hanoi haben Hunderte zum Verzehr bestimmte Katzen vergraben, darunter offenbar noch lebende Tiere. Das Vorgehen entspreche dem Gesetz zum Umgang mit geschmuggelten Gütern, sagte ein Polizist der Nachrichtenagentur AFP. ...

Japan says South China Sea security impacts national interests

04.02.2015 (The Asahi Shimbun) - Security in the South China Sea, claimed almost wholly by China, impacts Japan's interests and could warrant a rethink of military patrol aircraft deployments, the defense minister said after a U.S. Navy officer said Washington would welcome a Japanese presence in the region. ...

Vietnam’s concerted effort to keep control of its past

01.02.2015 By Thomas A. Bass (The Washington Post) - Five years ago I began an experiment — not of my own devising — to study censorship in Vietnam. In 2009, I signed a contract to publish one of my books in Hanoi. Called “The Spy Who Loved Us,” the book tells the story of Pham Xuan An, Vietnam’s most celebrated journalist during the Vietnam War. (He ended his career as bureau chief for Time magazine in Saigon.) Only after the war did we learn that An had received a dozen military medals as a communist spy and served as North Vietnam’s deadliest secret weapon. ...

Vietnamese refugee Kim Thúy's second chance in Granby

30.01.2015 By Alison Cook, Amanda Klang (CBC News) - When 10-year-old Kim Thúy Lý Thành stepped off the bus in Granby, Que. on a March day nearly 40 years ago, she had never felt more beautiful in her life. ...

Intel Helps Support Communications Training for Engineering at Vietnamese-German University

29.01.2015 (PRWEB) - A new case study from the Intel® Software Academic Program explores technical projects built by first-year students at Vietnamese-German University (VGU), within a preparatory course load that focuses largely on technical communication vocabulary and report writing. ...

Chu thanks Vietnamese residents in Tet celebration

02.02.2015 (The China Post) - TAIPEI -- Speaking at the city's fifth annual celebration of Tet, New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) thanked migrant workers and immigrants from Vietnam for their contributions to Taiwan's economy and society. ...

Slow growth for nuclear energy in Japan, Vietnam

01.02.2015 (Neutron Bytes) - It’s a no-brainer that Japan will likely emerge from the Fukushima crisis with fewer nuclear reactors than it had in operation in 2010. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s ambitious plans to build at least eight 1000 MW class reactors has been pushed back by three to five years. ...

Foreigners Bullish on Vietnam, But Want Economic Reforms

01.02.2015 Lien Hoang (VOA) - HO CHI MINH CITY— Foreign investors are optimistic about Vietnam’s economy, along with others in Asia, but have asked the government to complete its promised overhaul of banks and state firms. Investment is pouring into the country as everything from inflation to currency stabilizes, while strong trade is set for an even better outlook. ...

Vietnam: Open Secrets on the Road to Succession

30.01.2015 Written by Jonathan London (Asia Sentinel) - 2016 is a crucial year. Jockeying is going on behind the scenes. The normally opaque Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has made a public splash with its recently concluded 10thCentral Committee plenum. The stakes are high and carry implications not only for Vietnam’s development but also for the strategic outlook of the entire region. So what exactly is going on? ...

Vietnam. Pastor und sein Mitarbeiter zusammengeschlagen

30.01.2015 Josef Bordat (Blog jobo72) - Am 18. Januar wurde Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang und sein Mitarbeiter von fünf Männern auf offener Straße brutal zusammengeschlagen. Pastor Quang setzt sich für Religionsfreiheit in Vietnam ein. Die autoritäre vietnamesische Regierung wiederum setzt bezahlte zivile Schlägertrupps ein, um Regimekritiker zu verfolgen ...

Vietnamese Lunar New Year - 'Spiritual spending' peaks ahead of February

29.01.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam experiences an upsurge in spiritual activity every year as February's Lunar New Year celebrations approach. Rituals such as buying votive, or joss, paper, ghost money to burn as offerings to Buddha, local gods as well as ancestors and dead people add up to tens of millions of dollars annually. ...

Continúa el éxodo de los montagnard en Camboya, para escapar de las persecuciones

29.01.2015 (AsiaNews) - Phnom Penh - Continúa la fuga de enteras familias monstagnards, que abandonan los pueblos de origen en Vietnam y superan la frontera con Camboya, para escapar de las persecuciones de las autoridades comunistas de Hanói y en busca de una vida mejor. ...

Vietnam: Tight Control of Critics, Democracy Advocates in 2014 - No Light at the End of the Tunnel for Activists

29.01.2015 (HRW) - (New York) – The human rights situation in Vietnam in 2014 continued to be characterized by one-party rule, politically motivated convictions, lack of labor rights, widespread police abuse, and an escalating land crisis, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2015. ...

HRW lamenta un "retroceso" de los derechos humanos en el Sudeste Asiático

29.01.2015 (ABC.es) - Bangkok (EFE) - La organización Human Rights Watch (HRW) lamentó hoy el "retroceso" de los derechos humanos durante 2014 en el Sudeste Asiático, tendencia que ligó a la conexión entre la política, el poder y la corrupción. ...

Tätlicher Angriff von Schlägertrupps auf vietnamesische Menschenrechtler 29.01.2015 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Eine Gruppe von 12 Bloggern und Menschenrechtsaktivisten hat vor einer Woche den kürzlich freigelassenen Dissidenten Tran Anh Kim in Thai Binh besucht. Tran Anh Kim, Jahrgang 1949, ehemaliger Oberstleutnant der vietnamesischen Volksarmee, war wegen „umstürzlerischen Verhaltens“ gegen den vietnamesischen Staat nach Artikel 79 des Strafgesetzbuches angeklagt und im Dezember 2009 zu fünfeinhalb Jahren Haft und anschließendem dreijährigen Hausarrest verurteilt worden... "Wie mir die Polizei mitteilte, war der Grund dieser Attacke unser Besuch bei Kim während seines Hausarrests", sagte der 80-jährige Nguyen Thanh Giang ...

18 more Vietnamese Montagnards cross into Cambodian jungle: activist

29.01.2015 AFP (Bangkok Post) - Eighteen more Vietnamese hill tribe Montagnards fleeing persecution in the communist nation have crossed into Cambodia's jungle to seek asylum, a rights activist said on Thursday. ...

Philippines Warns ASEAN Over China Island Reclamation

29.01.2015 (Epoch Times) - MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has urged fellow Southeast Asian nations to demand that China immediately stop its land reclamation in contested South China Sea reefs, warning the 10-nation bloc’s credibility may be undermined if it remains silent on the issue. ...

Interview: Vietnam Has Problems That Citizens Should Stay And Solve

28.01.2015 (RFA) - On Jan. 26, 2015, dissident Vietnamese journalist and blogger Doan Trang returned to Vietnam after visiting the United States, but was detained by security forces for 15 hours at the Tan Son Nhut airport in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Following her release, RFA reporter Chan Nhu interviewed her at a friend’s house in the city, where she was waiting to take another flight to Hanoi. ...

Vietnam: Politische Stabilität trotz geschwächter Regierung

28.01.2015 (www.fondscheck.de) - Wiesbaden - Makroökonomisches Missmanagement und eine Reihe von Korruptionsskandalen haben die Regierung von Nguyen Tan Dung geschwächt - die politische Stabilität und Kontinuität Vietnams ist bislang aber nicht gefährdet, so die Experten von Credimundi. ...

Tätlicher Angriff auf vietnamesische Pastoren

27.01.2015 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Zwei vietnamesische mennonitische Pastoren haben am 18. Januar einen tätlichen Angriff auf sie schwer verletzt überlebt.

Berichten zufolge haben fünf Männer Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang und seinen Glaubensbruder Huynh Thuc Khai mit Ziegeln und Steinen in der Nähe ihrer Bibelschule nördlich von Ho Chi Minh Stadt (vormals Saigon) angegriffen. Auch nach dem sie zusammengebrochen auf dem Boden lagen, wurden sie von den Angreifern weiter getreten und schwer verletzt. ...

Vietnam: „Das war fast wie ein Tsunami“

27.01.2015 (Radio Vatikan) - Sechs Tage hat Kardinal Fernando Filoni in Vietnam verbracht – und wurde dort empfangen wie ein Papst. Einen Tag nach seiner Rückkehr in sein römisches Büro ist der Präfekt der vatikanischen Missionskongregation noch voller Eindrücke. ...

Cambodia Deports 7 Montagnard Asylum Seekers to Vietnam, Others Still Hiding

26.01.2015 (VOA) - At least 14 Montagnard asylum seekers from Vietnam are continuing to evade authorities in the forests of eastern Cambodia, two days after seven others were forcibly deported. Ratanakkiri provincial police chief Nguon Koeun said border police arrested the seven and handed them over to Vietnamese authorities on Saturday. ...

Laos is ignoring significant concerns of its neighbours on Mekong dams

26.01.2015 Ame Trandem (The Nation) - Vientiane is not acting in good faith; reckless plan for Don sahong dam will have huge repercussions. The charade over whether to proceed with Don Sahong Dam, the second Mekong mainstream hydropower project near the Laotian-Cambodian border, will soon reach a defining moment. ...

Vietnam: Plainclothes Agents Target Rights Campaigners

25.01.2015 (HRW) - (New York) – The Vietnamese authorities should immediately stop using violence against human rights campaigners, Human Rights Watch said today. In January 2015, leading bloggers were targeted by plainclothes agents and beaten. The attacks violated basic rights and that all involved in the assaults against bloggers and rights activists should be held accountable for their acts of violence, intimidation, and harassment. “The Vietnamese government has some serious questions to answer,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. ...

The threat over Mekong

25.01.2015 By Theodoros Benakis (New Europe) - Laos has limited possibilities of exploiting natural and mineral resources since it lacks the necessary infrastructure. It seems the only possibilities for development are related to tourism and energy. Fewer than 10 years ago, Laos had made clear it prefers revenue from energy over tourism. However, the problem is that these two possibilities are not compatible since the construction of dams is essential for the production of electricity but will damage the environment of the Mekong area and will cause an economic and ecological disaster. ...

Hammer und Sichel am Mekong

25.01.2015 Von Wilfried Arz (Eurasisches Magazin) - Kontroverse Staudammprojekte. Wachsender Einfluss der Nachbarn Vietnam und China. Südostasiens Entwicklungspläne haben Laos aus dem sozialistischen Dornröschenschlaf gerissen. Energie und Rohstoffe versprechen eine bessere Zukunft und bereiten der marxistischen Regierung neue Probleme. Vier Jahrzehnte nach seiner Staatsgründung (1975) drücken das Land drei Problemkreise: ...

Pastor beaten in broad daylight in Vietnam

24.01.2015 Nice Daswani (Christian Today) - A pastor and his associate are reported to have been brutally beaten by five men in broad daylight on January 18 near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

According to Voice of the Martyrs, Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and his associate were hit in the head with bricks and stones. When they fell to the ground, the assailants proceeded to kick their bodies relentlessly. ...

Youths from Asia Pacific unite in the fight against corruption

23.01.2015 By Maud Salber (TI) - Young people constitute a sizeable portion of the Asian Pacific population and tend to be particularly exposed to bribery and corruption as students, pupils, workers, customers and citizens. But young people can play a pivotal role in the fight against corruption, in Asia Pacific and beyond. ...

EU and Vietnam hold eleventh round of FTA talks

23.01.2015 (EU) - The EU and Vietnam today completed the eleventh round of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The talks were held in Brussels, on 19-23 January 2015. Both teams made further progress on all outstanding issues and are working towards a swift conclusion of the negotiations. The chapter on Trade and Sustainable Development contains robust provisions, including: - obligations not to derogate from or fail to effectively enforce domestic labour and environmental laws to attract trade and investment (to avoid a race to the bottom), mechanisms for the involvement of civil society, and a dedicated article on climate change; ...

How International Human Rights Day Is Celebrated in Vietnam

23.01.2015 Author: Brad Adams, Asia director (HRW) - Which is worse, being thrown in jail or getting beaten up? This is a question activists in Vietnam were pondering on International Human Rights Day this month.

The government of Vietnam has been sending people to prison for dissent for more than half a century. Lately, the government has tried to persuade other governments and diplomats that it is becoming more tolerant, pointing to what it claims are decreasing arrests of critics. ...

China expands construction work in disputed Spratly waters

23.01.2015 By Naoji Sshibata (The Asahi Shimbun) - Beijing appears to have made steady advances in the construction of port and other facilities in disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to photographs obtained by The Asahi Shimbun. The aerial photos of the area were taken in October. ...

Vietnam fails to deliver on its education promise

23.01.2015 By Helen Clark (Asian Correspondent) - In 2011 I wrote a brief piece for the Economist’s now sadly departed language blog ‘Johnson’. Headlined “I am English Teach” (how an English teacher described her occupation to me on a bus once) it outlined the problem of language teaching: Vietnam wanted English taught through primary school and penalised teachers who could not pass English exams, but was unable to provide the resources for them to do so. This is just one of many problems in the nation’s education system, which has not been thoroughly reformed in decades. ...

Cardenal Filoni en Vietnam: Siguiendo al Papa Francisco, reforzar la misión entre los no cristianos

23.01.2015 De Nguyen Hung (AsiaNews) - Hanói (AsiaNews)- Reforzar el camino de la Evangelización y el compromiso misionero de la Iglesia local, llevando la bendición y la cercanía del Papa Francisco que mira con particular atención al país y a su pueblo. Es este el espíritu que anima la primera visita pastoral del card. Fernando Filoni, Prefecto de la Congregación para la Evangelización de los Pueblos, en Vietnam; el purpurado llegó al país asiático el 19 de enero pasado y concluirá su misión el domingo 25. ...

Vietnamese immigrant says 'Thank You, Merci Canada' — in a song

23.01.2015 Robert Bostelaar  (Ottawa Citizen) - Hung Vu fled Vietnam on the day Saigon fell, clinging not to a helicopter skid but to the deck of a boat with a balky engine.

Four decades later, the Ottawa technology entrepreneur-turned-public servant has recorded a song about his journey and the country he says so warmly adopted him. Its unabashed title: Thank You, Merci Canada. ...

Oil price boost for Indo-Vietnam ties

22.01.2015 By Sadhavi Chauhan (Asia Times Online) - While Indo-Vietnamese energy cooperation dates back to 1988, when India' s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) received exploration rights for Block 06.1, ties became complicated in 2011 with China warning countries "outside the region" to stay away from the South China Sea. ...

Vietnam: Beeindruckt von einer quirligen Kirche

22.01.2015 (Radio Vatikan) - Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe: Kardinal Fernando Filoni ist nach der Papstreise durch Sri Lanka und auf die Philippinen nicht mit Franziskus nach Rom zurückgeflogen. Stattdessen besucht der Präfekt der Missionskongregation Vietnam, wo die Christen 400 Jahre Evangelisierung feiern. ...

Vatican cardinal meets with Vietnamese political leaders

22.01.2015 (Catholic World News) - Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, met with Vietnamese government officials as he continued a pastoral visit to the Asian country. ...

Vietnam’s careful dance with the superpowers

21.01.2015 Author: Phuong Nguyen, CSIS, Washington DC (East Asia Forum) - US–Vietnam military relations have improved remarkably in recent years but talk of an enhanced alliance between Washington and Hanoi overlooks important geopolitical and historic nuances. Defence relations between the two countries turned a page in the early 2000s, when both countries moved beyond the legacy of the Vietnam War. Both countries began to actively explore new ways to work together...

Vietnamese Activists Allege Police Brutality After Visiting Dissident

21.01.2015 Tra Mi (VOA) - Thirteen Vietnamese social activists say they were attacked by police and taken into custody after visiting recently freed dissident Tran Anh Kim.

One activist, 80-year-old Nguyen Thanh Giang, tells VOA's Vietnamese service the incident in northern Thai Binh province highlights an alarming trend of police brutality. ...

Vietnam’s crying need: Education system overhaul

21.01.2015 (Gulf Time) Hanoi - Wearied by the rampant cheating, endless rote learning and mandatory Leninist ideology classes, Vietnam’s middle-classes are fleeing the country’s school system for overseas education.

Every year, Vietnamese parents spend more than $1 billion sending their children to schools and colleges abroad, according to data from independent monitors, shunning a local system so backwards that experts say it is impeding economic growth. ...

Vietnam government turns to social media to ‘guide opinion’

20.01.2015 By Helen Clark (AsianCorrespondent) - If there were two certainties to life in America – death and taxes – then there is one in foreign news coverage of Vietnam: censorship. Whether it is the locking up of many dissidents or the occasional release of one, the blocking or unblocking of social media sites or a brief release upon never-quite-stated strictures, it is as inevitable as typhoons are during Autumn on the country’s central coast. ...

UN Voices Concern Over Death Penalty for Drug Crimes in Indonesia, Vietnam

20.01.2015 (Sputnik) - UNITED NATION, January 20 – The UN expressed concerns on Tuesday over death penalties being imposed in Indonesia and Vietnam for drug crimes, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said. ...

Akamai Technologies : Vietnam's Internet connection speed among Asia-Pacific's lowest

20.01.2015 (4-traders) - Vietnam ranks almost at the bottom among countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to Internet connection speed, a cloud service provider said in a report earlier this month. ...

Vietnamese Film Reaches For Gold At Berlinale

20.01.2015 (Bernama) - HANOI -- Vietnamese director Phan Dang Di's latest film will premiere at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), becoming the first Vietnamese film to compete for the top prize at the film fest. ...

Menschenrechtsbeauftragter Strässer zum Besuch einer Justizvollzugsanstalt in Berlin/Brandenburg durch eine vietnamesische Delegation

20.01.2015 (Auswärtiges Amt) - Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Menschenrechtspolitik und Humanitäre Hilfe, Christoph Strässer, erklärte anlässlich des Besuchs der Berliner Justizvollzugsanstalt Heidering durch eine vietnamesische Delegation heute (20.01.):

Ich freue mich, dass es im Rahmen des EU-Vietnam-Menschenrechtsdialogs möglich ist, unseren vietnamesischen Partnern dieses Beispiel einer hochmodernen Strafvollzugsanstalt zu zeigen.

In Vietnam ist die Menschenrechtslage weiterhin besorgniserregend. ...

Vietnam Shows China Its Resolve With Military Poster

20.01.2015 By Edward Wong (The New York Times) - The billboard sat in a leafy park east of the old presidential palace in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, near several other posters that, among other things, celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Army of Vietnam. This one had a white dove flying across a blue background with a long red ribbon in its beak. ...

Acht Todesurteile für mutmaßliche Drogenschmuggler in Vietnam

20.01.2015 (Tiroler Tageszeitung) - Hanoi (APA/dpa) - Ein Gericht in Vietnam hat acht Drogenschmuggler zum Tode und fünf weitere zu lebenslanger Haft verurteilt. Sie hatten nach Überzeugung der Richter in drei Jahren 180 Kilogramm Heroin von Laos eingeschmuggelt ...

Vietnam sentences eight drug traffickers to death

20.01.2015 (Channel NewsAsia) - HANOI: A Vietnamese court has sentenced eight members of a smuggling gang to death for trafficking heroin and five others to life in prison, state media said Tuesday (Jan 20). ...

14 Vietnamese Montagnards hiding in Cambodian jungle

20.01.2015 Agence France-Presse, Phnom Penh (Jakarta Post) - Fourteen Vietnamese hill tribe Montagnards are hiding in a remote Cambodian jungle after crossing the border to flee persecution and seek asylum, rights activists said Tuesday.. ...

Vietnamese Film Reaches For Gold At Berlinale

20.01.2015 (Bernama) - HANOI -- Vietnamese director Phan Dang Di's latest film will premiere at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), becoming the first Vietnamese film to compete for the top prize at the film fest.. ...

More Montagnards cross from Vietnam into Cambodia

19.01.2015 By Lauren Crothers, PHNOM PENH (Anadolu Agency) -  Nine more Montagnards have crossed the Vietnamese border into Cambodia and are now in hiding in the jungles there, bringing the number of the predominantly Christian asylum seekers in the country to 14, it was reported Monday. ...

Jane Fonda Regrets Vietnam Photo: "It Was a Huge, Huge Mistake"

19.01.2015 by THR Staff (The Hollywood Reporter) - Jane Fonda regrets the way her infamous Vietnam photo made her appear anti-troop, calling it a "huge, huge mistake. It hurts me and it will to my grave that I made a huge, huge mistake that made a lot of people think I was against the soldiers.” ...

Can Vietnam have its cake and eat it?

Diplomatic test for Hanoi as it seeks to build on 20 years of ties with the US and 65 years with China

17.01.2015 Kristine Kwok (SCMP) - Anh Chi is no stranger to demonstrations. Since 2011, the Vietnamese freelance blogger, 41, has taken to the streets of Hanoi for various causes. In a country where such activism is strictly suppressed, harassment is guaranteed. But the harshest treatment, he says, occurs when he is involved in anti-China protests, an increasingly popular cause amid rising tensions over the Communist neighbours' maritime sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea. ...

Vietnam: Sustained EU pressure needed on human rights at upcoming dialogue

16.01.2015 (FIDH) - Paris, Brussels - The European Union (EU) must use upcoming talks with Vietnam to demand that Hanoi urgently address serious human rights violations, FIDH and its member organization Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) said today. The two organizations made the call ahead of the fifth EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, which is scheduled to be held in Brussels on 19 January. ...

Le gouvernement communiste du Vietnam veut investir sur Facebook

16.01.2015 B.C. avec AFP (20minutes) - Faute d’avoir pu en bloquer l’accès à ses citoyens, le Vietnam communiste va investir Facebook pour répandre les messages du gouvernement. Le Premier ministre Nguyen Tan Dung a reconnu qu'il lui était impossible d'interdire les réseaux sociaux: «Vous êtes tous sur les réseaux sociaux, vous allez tous sur Facebook depuis vos téléphones pour vous informer. Nous devons donc rendre ces informations correctes.» ...

Das Regime in Kambodscha - Drei Jahrzehnte Unterdrückung

16.01.2015 Sascha Zastiral, Bangkok (NZZ) - Seit dreissig Jahren regiert Hun Sen Kambodscha. Seine Gegner hat er stets erfolgreich ausgeschaltet – mit Einschüchterung und Gewalt. Die Opposition, die nach den Wahlen 2013 gegen ihn die Stimme erhob, ist verstummt.

Die Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) hat die nun drei Jahrzehnte alte Herrschaft zum Anlass genommen, die Menschenrechtslage in Kambodscha zusammenzufassen. ...

Umsetzung unmöglich: Vietnam beendet Blockade sozialer Netzwerke

16.01.2015 (Trends der Zukunft) - Nach Angaben der Zeitung „Thanh Nien“ sagte der Premierminister Nguyen Tan Dung gegenüber hohen Beamten: „Wir müssen akkurate Informationen immer auch sofort online veröffentlichen. Was auch immer im Internet verbreitet wird, die Leute werden offiziellen Informationen der Regierung vertrauen.“ Diese Einsicht scheint aber nicht alleine auf eine neue Lust an Transparenz zurückzugehen. Vielmehr gestand der Politiker auch ein: „Wir können Facebook nicht bannen“. ...

Integrationspreis verliehen: Preisträger spricht die Sprache des Herzens

16.01.2015 Von Harald Wendler (MG-Heute) - Integrationspreis 2014 der Stadt Mönchengladbach geht an die Katholische Grundschule Waisenhausstraße. Oberbürgermeister Hans Wilhelm Reiners überreichte der Schulleiterin Ursula Stegemann-Hirsch im Rahmen einer Feierstunde im Jugendclubhaus Westend vorgestern die Auszeichnung, die für besondere Leistungen in der Integrationsarbeit verliehen wird.

Die Jury für den Integrationspreis, hatte insgesamt 16 Bewerbungen nach zahlreichen Kriterien. „Sie alle haben gewonnen. Ohne sie wäre Mönchengladbach ein bisschen ärmer und das soziale Klima ein wenig kälter“, betonte Oberbürgermeister Hans Wilhelm Reiners bei der Überreichung der Urkunden an die Bewerber. Folgende Personen und Projekte waren für den 2. Integrationspreis der Stadt vorgeschlagen: ... Van Ri Nguyen, 1982 als Bootsflüchtling aus Vietnam nach Deutschland gekommen ...

Southeast Asia's junkyards a gold mine

15.01.2015 Manabu Ito, Nikkei staff writer (Nikkei Asian Review) - TOKYO -- Urban mining is taking off in Southeast Asia. The term is shorthand for recovering precious and rare-earth metals from discarded automobiles and electronic devices as well as from industrial scrap. The lack of administrative control has led to a cottage industry of sorts -- a rampant and illegal one. Some Vietnamese recyclers try to extract metals from waste in backyards  ...

Vietnamese Political Blog Creates a Stir

15.01.2015 Colin Nguyen (VOA) - A blog with an anonymous author has emerged as a popular source for behind-the-scenes information on Vietnamese politics.

Portrait of Power, or Chan Dung Quyen Luc, has attracted nearly 14 million visits since its launch a month ago. It publishes documents and photos alleging massive corruption among some cabinet members and their relatives. ...

Vietnamese Leader Says Banning Social Media Sites Impossible

15.01.2015 (abc News) - Vietnam's prime minister said Thursday that it is impossible to ban social media such as Facebook so authorities in the communist nation instead should provide correct information to inform public opinion... In 2013, according to some critics and Internet analysts, evidence surface that a shadowy, pro-government cyber army was blocking, hacking and spying on Vietnamese activists around the world to hamper the country's pro-democracy movement. ...

Online rumor mills could create political chaos

14.01.2015 (Nikkei Asian Review) - HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnamese are increasingly turning to social media and what some call "mystery blogs" for information not covered by the mainstream press. And so it was that, late in the evening of Jan. 9, people gathered at Da Nang International Airport in the hope of witnessing the homecoming of an anti-corruption crusader after receiving medical treatment in the U.S. ...

Das Regime stört die Trauerfreier für die Mutter eines inhaftierten vietnamesischen Bloggers

13.01.2015 (Forum Vietnam 21) - Ha Noi - Die Trauerfeier für die in der letzten Woche verstorbene Mutter des im Mai 2014 inhaftierten Bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh alias Ba Sam wurde gestern von Sicherheitskräften massiv gestört. Gäste, die die Polizei als Dissidenten einstufte, wurden daran gehindert, an der Bestattungsfeier teilzunehmen. Anderen Trauergästen wurden Kranzschleifen mit dem Namen eines kritischen Bloggers oder einer "illegalen" Zivilgesellschaft entrissen. ...

In Vietnam, arrests dash hopes that crackdown on bloggers will end

09.01.2015 By Shawn W. Crispin/CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative (Committee to Protect Journalists) - What one hand gives, the other takes in Vietnam. Last October's early release of jailed blogger Nguyen Van Hai, more commonly known as Dieu Cay, has proven to be an anomaly as authorities have subsequently ramped up their repression of other independent bloggers. The latest victim of the crackdown is Nguyen Dinh Ngoc, a prominent blogger who was arrested after police searched his home in southern Ho Chi Minh City on December 27, according to news reports. ...

Laos to build Don Sahong dam (thanks to Chinese help)

07.01.2015 By N.H. (AsiaNews) - Laos has officially announced that it will build the Don Sahong dam on the Mekong River, rekindling fears about its impact on local ecosystems. Chinese companies will be in charge of the technical side of the project, which includes the construction of some 19 large dams, six of which have already been built. ...

Vietnam devalues dong to up exports

07.01.2015 (Bangkok Post) - The State Bank of Vietnam devalued the dong for the second time in seven months Wednesday as regional currencies declined, seeking to support exports that have sustained the country’s economic growth. ...

Beschädigtes Unterseekabel bremst südostasiatische Verbindungen

07.01.2015 (NZZ) - Ein beschädigtes Unterseekabel wird vielen Menschen in Südostasien in den kommenden Wochen deutlich langsamere Internetverbindungen bescheren.  ...

Chinese Dominance Spreads Across South China Sea

06.01.2015 Written by David Brown and Bronson Percival (Asia Sentinel) - China wants to expand its maritime frontier. This goal has tremendous popular support at home. Expansion is, however, bound to test US resolve to sustain the status quo on the western rim of the Pacific. It is also bound to challenge the independence of China’s East Asian neighbors, even if China seeks only deference rather than dominance. For now, Beijing appears to have decided on small steps where it holds the tactical advantage: in the South China Sea that sweeps south from Hainan to Singapore.   ...

Vietnam civil society organizations’ comments to the 2015 ACSC/APF statement

06.01.2015 (VRNs) - Saigon -  To: Members of the Malaysian National Organizing Committee, Regional Steering Committee and Drafting Committee of the 2015 ASEAN APF/ACSC

We are the non-profit, non-partisan civil society organizations (CSOs) completely independent of controlling Vietnam government. Our CSOs are established according to Article 25 of the 2013 Constitution of Vietnam and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, our CSOs are still not recognized by the State of Vietnam. The independent CSOs of Vietnam recognize that:

A- Crackdown on Civil Rights ...

B-  Injustice on Human Rights ...

Vietnam looks for renewal in an intensely political 2015

06.01.2015 Author: David Brown (East Asia Forum) - ... 2015 will be an intensely political year. The Vietnamese Communist Party’s 12th Congress will convene in January 2016 to renew the nation’s leadership. Aspirants to top positions are already canvassing district and provincial party organisations for support. For the most part, it’s the usual snake oil: you support me and I’ll take care of you. Patronage is the lifeblood of the Party.  ...

Vietnam's dong falls to record low despite strong PMI data as dollar rally continues

05.01.2015 By Boby Michael (IBTimes) - Despite data revealing increasing strength in the manufacturing sector, the Vietnamese currency fell to a new record on 5 January with the dollar continuing its advance. USD/VND rallied to 21553 on Monday, an all-time high for the pair  ...

„Kaviar ist nicht nur für die Elite“

02.01.2015 (FAZ) - Der vietnamesische Geschäftsmann Le Anh Duc produziert Kaviar von Albino-Stören. Er verkauft seine Ware mit großem Erfolg ins Mutterland des Kaviars, nach Russland.  ...

Gigant unter den Insekten: Forscher entdecken 54 Zentimeter lange Stabschrecke

02.01.2015 (derStandard) - Brüssel - Eines der größten Insekten der Erde: Allein der Körper von Phryganistria heusii yentuensis misst 32 Zentimeter. Mit nach vorne ausgestreckten Beinen misst ein neu entdeckter Vertreter der Stabschrecken gewaltige 54 Zentimeter.  ...

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. ...