Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09HANOI378
2009-04-22 10:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Hanoi
Cable title:  

BLOGGING AND POLITICAL DISSENT IN VIETNAM

Tags:  PHUM PREL PGOV ECON VM 
pdf how-to read a cable
P 221018Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9543
INFO ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 000378 


FOR DRL/MLGA, EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2019
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV ECON VM
SUBJECT: BLOGGING AND POLITICAL DISSENT IN VIETNAM

REF: HANOI 367

Classified By: PolCouns Brian Aggeler. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L HANOI 000378


FOR DRL/MLGA, EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2019
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV ECON VM
SUBJECT: BLOGGING AND POLITICAL DISSENT IN VIETNAM

REF: HANOI 367

Classified By: PolCouns Brian Aggeler. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The internet continues to revolutionize
political communication and dissent in Vietnam. Blogs
routinely provide an alternative channel for print
journalists to publish information they know would not get
past state censors or newspaper self-censorship. The GVN
estimates there are over 300,000 Vietnamese bloggers; data
from Yahoo suggest the number is much greater. In contrast
to the situation in China, many well-known political
activists and high-profile journalists have blogs in their
own names or under thinly veiled pseudonyms that are not
blocked by internet censors. Vietnam's most vocal dissidents
regularly post stridently anti-government and anti-Communist
opinions that would expose them to almost certain arrest if
expressed in other, more conventional ways. Anti-GVN
websites hosted in the United States, France, and Germany
serve as clearing houses for these postings, which allows the
Vietnamese exile community to join with local dissidents in
criticizing the government. As the following list of Vietnam
based prominent online critics shows, even in the tightly
restrictive media environment of this single-party state,
dissent finds outlets for expression. END SUMMARY.

Lawyer Le Quoc Quan
--------------


2. (C) Dissident attorney Le Quoc Quan, who was detained for
3 months in 2007 after completing a fellowship with the
National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC, has his
own blog (www.lequocquan.blogspot.com). Over the past year,
Lawyer Quan has posted many articles critical of the
government's handling of last year's Catholic protests at the
Thai Ha parish and the September-October arrests of at least
13 activists associated with the dissident political movement
Bloc 8406 (reftel). Bloc 8406 itself received prominence
through circulating a "Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for
Vietnam in 2006" through the internet
(khoi8406vn.blogspot.com).

Author Tran Khai Thanh Thuy
--------------


3. (C) One of the more strident bloggers, author Tran Khai
Thanh Thuy, has her own blog
(www.trankhaithanhthuy.blogspot.com),which has posted a wide

range of articles sharply critical of Communist Party
leadership, Vietnam's lack of a free press and GVN
land-rights policies. She has authored over 30 books and has
even gone so far as to recently publish an extremely critical
book in the United States on Chairman Ho Chi Minh. At her
arrest in 2007, she was accused of "posting nearly 200 pieces
of libelous and slanderous propaganda on the internet that
gave grossly distorted views on the socio-economic
development, politics, human rights and rights for a
universal vote in Viet Nam." She was sentenced nine months
later to time served in January 2008 for "disturbing the
public order." Upon her release, she immediately resumed
posting hard-hitting articles against the GVN. Within the
past three months, Thuy and her family have experienced
increasing harassment -- including ten incidents where
individuals have thrown feces mixed with motor oil at her
home entrance and twice glued shut the lock of the gate to
her home. Thuy has complained to local officials and police
about the harassment but to date no action has been taken.

Scientist Nguyen Thanh Giang
--------------


4. (C) Dissident scientist Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giang's website
(www.nguyenthanhgiang.com) has a special section dedicated to
his writings on "human rights and democracy," as well as
another on "leaders of democracy" where he profiles the
efforts of other dissidents. He is also the chief editor of
the weekly online dissident newspaper "Fatherland" (To Quoc).
In recent months, Dr. Giang has hosted a number of group
meetings with dissidents and family members of Bloc 8406
detainees (reftel). He has also published online several
open letters signed by these family members asking for
information regarding their relatives.

Doctor Pham Hong Son
--------------


5. (C) After completing his four-and-a-half year prison
sentence for translating and circulating a State Department
document entitled "What is Democracy?", pharmacist Pham Hong
Son, resumed posting on-line articles on websites including
Vietnam's Political and Religious Prisoners Friendship
Association (www.hahtncttg.org). Son's frequent postings
have been particularly critical of the GVN's "coddling" of
China and have elaborated on what he views as the necessary
building blocks of democracy. Son continues to enjoy
translating the works of America's founding fathers into
Vietnamese and posting their writings on the internet. He
has even had editorials published in the Falun Gong's online
newspaper (www.epochtimes.com) marking the 30th anniversary
of Vietnam's border war with China.

Former Soldier Nguyen Khac Toan and Father Loi
-------------- -


6. (C) Virulently anti-communist dissidents Nguyen Khac Toan
and Father Phan Van Loi are joint editors of the weekly
online dissident newspaper "Freedom of Speech" (To Do Ngon
Luan). Toan is a regular contributor to the website Dialogue
(www.doi-thoai.com) and Father Loi also regularly posts
updates on Bloc 8406 to various websites. Father Loi even
joked in a recent meeting with the DCM that he is "addicted"
to the internet. While both individuals are closely
monitored by the police for their strongly held views, they
continue to remain free to regularly post comments online.

Even Former PM Vo Van Kiet and General Giap
--------------


7. (C) Particularly toward the end of his life, former Prime
Minister Vo Van Kiet became increasingly outspoken in urging
Vietnam toward fundamental political reform. A few months
before his death, he joined with dissident poet (and fellow
decorated war hero) Ha Si Phu in writing an article that
described continued one-party rule in Vietnam as not only
immoral but impractical with the goal of continued growth.
The two, along with fellow former Viet Cong guerillas Le Hong
Ha and Bui Tin, urged the CPV to get in front of world public
opinion by announcing a long-term road map to full democracy.
While no newspaper would publish the article, it was posted
on Ha Si Phu's website (www.hasiphu.com) and picked up by
many other bloggers. That was the last -- although not the
first -- article by Kiet that appeared only on the web.
Other Communist luminaries such as 97-year old General Vo
Nguyen Giap have allowed their works to be published in blogs
when no mainstream publication would carry them. Gen. Giap
has been unabashedly active in publishing open letters to the
government on topics where he feels the GVN has gone astray
-- whether it relates to the construction of a new National
Assembly building (which he opposed) or allowing Chinese
bauxite mining in the Central Highlands (which he also
opposes). Gen. Giap's comments on the bauxite mine
controversy have been the topic de jour of many online blogs
for weeks and have placed the GVN on the defensive regarding
this sensitive project.

Many, Many Others
--------------


8. (C) The blogs cited above represent a small fraction of
Vietnam's on-line dissident community. The American Internet
giant Yahoo told the Consulate in 2008 that one third of the
over 3.5 million blogs hosted on their "Yahoo360" service are
Vietnamese. While the vast majority of these simply provide
personal information like Facebook, many thousands include
political and social commentary that would not be welcome in
the mainstream media. It is no coincidence that even purely
private bloggers prefer the security offered by an off-shore
host. In Ho Chi Minh City, not only journalists but also the
editors of virtually every leading newspaper have private
blogs where they post information that they feel they ought
not publish. Some leading editors have even lamented the
negative impact that censorship -- and therefore blogging --
has had on sales, noting that the number of hits on their
blogs greatly exceeds the number of papers they sell.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) Again, the individuals mentioned above are only some
of the most prominent dissident bloggers; many others
regularly publish opinions sharply critical of the government
or Communist Party. These individuals continue to be subject
to regular surveillance and police harassment. However, in a
significant new development, they are not being arrested or
prosecuted solely for expressing their opinions online. The
danger, as the arrest of the blogger Dieu Cay and the unusual
military service of blogger Nguyen Tien Trung demonstrate,
comes when bloggers begin to express their views -- often
identical to opinions posted on their blogs -- in more
"traditional" ways, particularly through public protest. END
COMMENT.


10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh
City.


MICHALAK