Interesting event in Viet Nam - interview with Quang A
Deo Huu deochienhuu at gmail.com
Fri Mar 4 06:52:25 PST 2016
A wealthy VN businessman is challenging the Party to live up to its claim
of being a democratic institution? I admire his courage, but am not sure
how well it will work out for him. It will be interesting to see how this
goes.
R J Del Vecchio
Independent Researcher
Turner, Karen kturner at holycross.edu
Fri Mar 4 08:46:41 PST 2016
HI Deo! At first glance, I thought you meant Donald Trump!
Benjamin Swanton benswanton at gmail.com
Sat Mar 5 00:44:35 PST 2016
Hi all,
Does anyone know which other independent candidates are trying to run in
the May election? The article mentioned 19 dissidents.
Best,
*Benjamin Swanton*
Independent Consultant
phuxuan700 at gmail.com phuxuan700 at gmail.com
Sun Mar 6 18:53:06 PST 2016
According to blogger Nguyen Tuong Thuy, there are currently somewhere
between 20-30 independent candidates.
Even in the early phase of the election process, these candidates were
already subjected to harassment, as illustrated in two accounts from Nguyen
Quang A and Nguyen Tuong Thuy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-tF1wvnXvo&feature=youtu.be
http://ntuongthuy.blogspot.fr/2016/03/xac-nhan-ly-lich-ung-cu-uy-ban-xa-vinh.html
Calvin Thai
Independent Researcher
phuxuan700 at gmail.com phuxuan700 at gmail.com
Fri Mar 11 15:30:47 PST 2016
For list members who are interested in self-nominated candidates of
Vietnam's upcoming National Assembly election:
https://www.facebook.com/daibieuQH/
What kind of treatment these independent candidates receive remains to be
seen!
Calvin Thai
Independent Researcher
Michael Gray maigray at yahoo.com
Sat Mar 12 19:10:27 PST 2016
Hi Calvin and others,I just posted an email interview conducted with Nguyen Quang A, one of the most vocal of the independent candidates. He seems realistic on his chances of being permitted to run (low) but convinced that their efforts are well worth the trouble from an awareness-raising viewpoint:
https://www.tiasangvietnam.org/quang-a-on-the-democratic-learning-process/
The questions and his responses were in English. Edited slightly for clarity.
Mike GrayThe SecDev Foundation
Benedict Kerkvliet ben.kerkvliet at anu.edu.au
Sat Mar 12 23:05:52 PST 2016
12 March 2016, Honolulu, 8:55 pm
Thank you Calvin and Mike for the links. They are very helpful.
Re. "Motherland front," rather than "Fatherland front," as a translation for Mặt Trận Tổ Quốc, might we use "Homeland front"? Homeland (and native land) are among the possible translations for "tổ quốc" in some Vietnamese-English dictionaries and has the advantage of being gender neutral.
Cheers,
Ben
Ben Kerkvliet
Emeritus Professor
Australian National University
Canberra
Affiliate Graduate Faculty
University of Hawai'i
Honolulu
phuxuan700 at gmail.com phuxuan700 at gmail.com
Sun Mar 13 07:47:56 PDT 2016
Thank you Mike for the link.
Below are links to two articles from the main stream media (aka báo lề
phải), on the independent candidates for Vietnam's upcoming National
Assembly elections:
http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/tuanvietnam/292984/boi-nho-nguoi-tu-ung-cu-la-tiep-tay-cho-xuyen-tac.html
http://danviet.vn/kinh-da-trong/toi-di-ung-cu-dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-666559.html
Even though the articles were quickly removed, that does not mean they
would go away easily in the IT Age:
http://xuandienhannom.blogspot.com/2016/03/boi-nho-nguoi-tu-ung-cu-la-tiep-tay-cho.html
https://anhbasam.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/7450-toi-di-ung-cu-dai-bieu-quoc-hoi/
With respect to Ben's interesting suggestion, Motherland vs Fatherland vs
Homeland, officially, it is Fatherland Front:
http://en.vietnamplus.vn/fatherland-front-leader-welcomes-german-cardinal/87482.vnp
Could it be a cultural reflection ?
Calvin Thai
Michael Gray maigray at yahoo.com
Sun Mar 13 18:24:37 PDT 2016
Thanks Calvin for the links.
I left it as 'Motherland Front' because Quang A chose that and he clearly knows it is normally translated as Fatherland Front -- it seemed obvious to me that he was putting an intentional, gendered spin on it. I would translate it as National Front.
Who originally came up with 'Fatherland Front' - Party translators or foreign scholars?
Mike
David Marr david.marr at anu.edu.au
Mon Mar 21 18:25:55 PDT 2016
‘Mat Tran To Quoc’ has obvious patriarchal connotations. I wonder if `To Quoc’ goes back to a Japanese coinage in the late 19th century, which then migrated to China and Vietnam? For Francophone Vietnamese a few decades later the link with ‘Patrie’ puts frosting on the cake. Another example of why Vietnamese needs a full-fledged etymological dictionary.
I stick with ‘Fatherland Front’ as the most accurate translation.
David Marr
ANU
Dien Nguyen nguyendien519 at gmail.com
Wed Mar 16 01:32:31 PDT 2016
Another independent candidate.
Điền
Nguyễn Trọng Tạo <https://www.facebook.com/nguyentrongtao> with Trần Đăng
Khoa <https://www.facebook.com/daochim> and 33 others
13 hrs
·
TIẾN SĨ, NHÀ BÁO TRẦN ĐĂNG TUẤN TỰ ỨNG CỬ ĐẠI BIỂU QUỐC HỘI.
Tôi rất vui khi nhận được tin này. "Ngày 12/3, TS Trần Đăng Tuấn đã tới nộp
hồ sơ tự ứng cử đại biểu Quốc hội tại điểm tiếp nhận của Ủy ban bầu cử TP
Hà Nội". Tôi tin quyết định của Tuấn, vì cách đây 6 năm, anh là người dám
đệ đơn xin nghỉ chức vụ Phó Tổng giám đốc thường trực VTV để rồi sau đó làm
Tổng GĐ cho Công ty Nghe nhìn Toàn cầu (AVG) thuộc An Viên Group. Tuấn cũng
là người khởi xướng và thực thi hiệu quả cho phong trào "Cơm có thịt" mang
lại bữa ăn dinh dưỡng cho trẻ em nghèo vùng cao.
Cho dù Tuấn nói: “Tôi không quá thiếu thực tế. Kể cả nếu sau hiệp thương
tên tôi có trong danh sách để bầu, thì cơ hội trúng cử của tôi, một người
tự ứng cử, khách quan mà nhìn nhận, là không nhiều”, nhưng nếu có tên Trần
Đăng Tuấn ở khu vực tôi, tôi sẽ bầu cho anh.
Mời bạn đọc chùm thơ của TRẦN ĐĂNG TUẤN đăng trên Web nguyentrongtao:
http://nguyentrongtao.info/…/tho-tren-may-dien-thoai-cua-t…/
<http://nguyentrongtao.info/2010/11/16/tho-tren-may-dien-thoai-cua-tran-dang-tuan/>
https://www.facebook.com/nguyentrongtao?pnref=story
Dien Nguyen nguyendien519 at gmail.com
Wed Mar 16 04:03:51 PDT 2016
More on Trần Đăng Tuấn's candidature.
Điền
Ông Trần Đăng Tuấn ứng cử ĐBQH: GS Thuyết, ông Quốc đều mừng
*Hoàng Đan* | 15/03/2016 07:40
<https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://soha.vn/news-20160314210608954.htm>
3
<https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://soha.vn/news-20160314210608954.htm>
[image: Ông Trần Đăng Tuấn ứng cử ĐBQH: GS Thuyết, ông Quốc đều mừng]
*Từ trái qua: GS Nguyễn Minh Thuyết, ông Trần Đăng Tuấn, ông Dương Trung
Quốc.*
Thaveeporn Vasavakul Thaveeporn at mail.kvsinter.com
Wed Mar 16 08:32:52 PDT 2016
Tran Dang Tuan's planned involvement is encouraging.
I have also learned that Do Viet Khoa, a school teacher in former Ha Tay who was active in anti-corruption in education (since the time when Nguyen Thien Nhan was the Minister), has also submitted an application.
Thaveeporn Vasavakul, Ph.D
GoSFI - Governance Support Facility Initiatives
Benjamin Swanton benswanton at gmail.com
Wed Mar 16 11:45:07 PDT 2016
I don't know much about Tran Dang Tuan but as the director of AVG
Television and former general director of VTV he must have close contacts
with the CPV and would have been a card carrying member himself while at VTV.
Best,
Benjamin Swanton
Independent Consultant
Thaveeporn Vasavakul Thaveeporn at mail.kvsinter.com
Thu Mar 17 06:07:53 PDT 2016
On Tran Dang Tuan, there is a BBC article published in 2010 on his resignation which should give some information on his moving away from the public sector.http://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/vietnam/2010/09/100901_tran_dang_tuan_resignation.shtml
I could not find online materials on "com có th?t" a philanthropic "organization" set up to raise support to poor children in minority areas but have found his letter sent to Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs on the process of NGO registration. http://dantri.com.vn/dien-dan/nha-bao-tran-dang-tuan-viet-thu-gui-bo-truong-bo-noi-vu-ve-com-co-thit-1353576514.htm
Interesting background - both articles are in Vietnamese though.
Thaveeporn Vasavakul, Ph.D
GoSFI - Governance Support Facility Initiatives
www.gosfi.org
Dien Nguyen nguyendien519 at gmail.com
Fri Mar 18 04:30:05 PDT 2016
List of 87 candidates from HaNoi, including 48 independent candidates:
DANH SÁCH 87 NGƯỜI ỨNG CỬ ĐB QUỐC HỘI KHÓA 14 TẠI HÀ NỘI
Sáng nay, 17.03.2016, Ủy ban Mặt trận tổ quốc thành phố Hà Nội tổ chức hội
nghị hiệp thương lần thứ hai để lập danh sách sơ bộ người ứng cử đại biểu
Quốc hội và gửi lấy ý kiến cử tri nơi cư trú. Với tỷ lệ 100% đại biểu có
mặt nhất trí, hội nghị hiệp thương lần thứ hai của TP Hà Nội đã thông qua
danh sách sơ bộ 87 ứng cử viên đại biểu Quốc hội khóa 14, trong đó có 48
người tự ứng cử. Tễu Blog chúc mừng 39 vị được giới thiệu ứng cử và đặc
biệt chúc mừng 48 vị tự ứng cử. Như thế là không có ai là người "có sự ủng
hộ của tổ chức phản động trong nước, nước ngoài đứng ra vận động bầu cho
họ, thậm chí cung cấp tài chính để vận động" như Tiểu ban an ninh, trật tự,
an toàn xã hội của Hội đồng bầu cử Quốc gia cáo buộc.
Địa chỉ của liên kết là:
http://xuandienhannom.blogspot.fr/2016/03/danh-sach-87-nguoi-ung-cu-b-quoc-hoi.html
Michael Gray maigray at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 18 19:29:47 PDT 2016
Some info on 'com co thit' (check the show notes below the Youtube video):
(US) Cơm Có Thịt - A Dime For A Meal
Cơm Có Thịt: Ông Trần Đăng Tuấn - Từ tâm thư chấn động đến ứng cử ĐBQH | soha.vn
Nguyen HongHai haihuongminhduy at yahoo.com
Mon Mar 21 23:40:08 PDT 2016
Hi all,
"Tổ Quốc = Vietnam" is meant by many as "Đất Mẹ", which is literally translated as "Motherland". Maybe, Quang A thought this way?
If my memory is good, Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs created a list of Vietnamese state agencies/organizations' names translated into English. MOFA then in an official letter advised the addressees to use these translated names. "Mặt trận Tổ Quốc Việt Nam" in this list is translated as "Vietnam Fatherland Front" or "VFF" in short. This name has been used by Mặt trận Tổ quốc itself for years in its international relations.
I am not sure if there is anything linked with gender bias in the mind of the translator. Though for the time being, to avoid misunderstanding of "Mặt trận Tổ quốc" as a new organization, I agree with David Marr to stick with "Fatherland Front" as a commonly used name for years now. Regarding the accuracy of its meaning, I leave it for experts.
Hai
The University of Queensland
Bui, Kim Dinh kim-dinh.bui at sowi.uni-goettingen.de
Tue Mar 22 02:23:02 PDT 2016
Hi all,
I prefer to stick with "Vietnam Fatherland Front" because it is the official translation of the government and feel interesting to see how its gender is changed by different organisations.
Dinh
Bùi Kim Đĩnh
Hue-Tam Tai hhtai at fas.harvard.edu
Tue Mar 22 05:22:19 PDT 2016
There seems to be a confusion as to what is being discussed. It is to quoc,
not dat me, not que cha dat me. If the state had wanted to, it could have
labeled the organization Mat Tran Dat Me; but it did not. So we have been
discussing how to translate Mat Tran To Quoc,nevermind that an official
translation already exists, and it is Fatherland Front.
To quoc is a term of Chinese origin (zu guo). It literally means land of
our forefathers, as" to" here means "to tien"; "to tien" in Chinese and
Sino-Vietnamese refers to male ancestors:"tien" means people who came
before; males are within (noi) the lineage whereas women are outside
(ngoai) the lineage.
We, women, are considered mostly as mothers to future generations of
Vietnamese, and our sacred mission (su mang thieng lieng) seems to be to
raise and children and d household chores, etc.. as per the repeated
statements made by several male scholars at a conference on women in higher
education to a room full of female Ph.Ds. six years ago.
Hue-Tam Ho Tai
Harvard
If the state had wanted to, it could have labeled the organization Mat Tran
Dat Me; but it did not.
peter hansen peterhansen.aus at gmail.com
Tue Mar 22 05:32:12 PDT 2016
Re "To Quoc", I have a friend named Ghi, who jokes that he is feted and
memorialized at every town he visits! He convinced some Aussie friends
travelling through Thua Tien this was true when they went past a Nghia
Trang Liet Si. LOL!
Peter Hansen
Attorney
Shawn McHale mchale at gwu.edu
Tue Mar 22 06:16:58 PDT 2016
To all re: Tổ quốc, from the Từ điển yếu tố Hán-Việt (1991):
P.. 420: TỔ: Grandfather, founder
1. Ông, bà. Tổ phụ, tổ sư. //2. Người được coi là đầu tiên sáng lập ra dòng
họ [ . . .] 3. Người sáng lập gây dụng (nghề, tôn giáo, học phái [ . . ]
I would conclude from the above that while "tổ" in "tổ quốc" overwhelmingly
refers to a male, there is room for it to refer to a female founder as
well, per (1) above.
Shawn McHale
Anh Pham gaupvn at gmail.com
Tue Mar 22 06:35:27 PDT 2016
Quê cha (Father's native land) Đất mẹ (Mother's land) is one example of the
Chinese/Vietnamese mind's obsession with linguistic symmetry exemplified in
the clever couplets that old scholars were remembered for. It's like that
part of the SAT test for which you have to find the what in A is to B as
what is to C.
Now that I think about it, I subconsciously use Fatherland for everything
having to do with hunting or extensions thereof, and Motherland for
everything having to do with gathering or extensions thereof. I would
therefore talk about the Fatherland's high mountains, deep jungles, rich
mines and the Motherland's flowing rivers, rolling hills, lush green
fields. I think about my Fatherland when I read about the South China Sea
clashes but my Motherland when I crave bún chả Hà Lội. You get the idea.
Anh Pham
Hoa Thịnh Đốn
David Marr david.marr at anu.edu.au
Mon Mar 28 17:30:48 PDT 2016
Paulus Cua’s 1896 dictionary has entries for ‘To’ and `Quoc’, but the compound ‘To Quoc’ is absent. When does the compound first appear in Japan and China?
David Marr
ANU
Cowboy Le myvufo at gmail.com
Thu Mar 31 01:19:33 PDT 2016
Ông bạn Gấu có lẽ nên về học lại 1 khóa tiếng Việt rồi sang truyền bá mới
chuẩn được!