By Luke Hunt
Vietnamese hate the moniker, reports Luke Hunt. But their feelings about their big neighbor are a lot more complicated.
The rooftop balcony of the Majestic Hotel commands sweeping views across the Saigon River where tiny sampans mix with giant cargo ships and ply their trade. Loaded with history and nostalgia, its bar is also a venue for the Old Hacks Reunion—a once-in-five-year affair when Vietnam War era combat reporters get together and trade tales from the past and down a few of their favourite ales.
Great survivors, like Peter Arnett, Jim Pringle and photographers Tim Page and Al Rockoff, were there this year. But their ranks, like their hairlines, are gray and thinning.
Thirty-five years after end of the Vietnam War, the journalists’ gathering here to celebrate their own separate anniversary seemed to pose the ultimate of ironies, reliving privileges they once practiced here, such as freedom of speech, that are still often denied native Vietnamese living on the streets below.
Still, there are no shortages of cheerleaders in Vietnam. Gushing praise for the leadership in Hanoi is sprinkled liberally across the pages of state-owned newspapers. To report anything else would risk accusations of unpatriotic behavior and even treason.
To minimise the risks of negative reporting, foreign correspondents have been barred from living in old Saigon since April 30, 1975—the day Russian-made tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace, signalling an end to South Vietnam.
Visits to Ho Chi Minh City by Hanoi-based journalists require special permission—letters to bureaucrats who can sit on a passport for weeks. Once obtained, costly government guides are appointed and the list of dos and don’ts ensures honest reporting is blunted by well-intentioned minders.
Interviews about the personal life and progeny of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s father, are off limits. So is talk about the ethnic and social differences based on old borders that divided North and South Vietnam or along the earlier French colonial lines of Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China.
Post-1975 re-education camps and the later eviction of ethnic Chinese that resulted in the deaths of untold thousands at sea are not popular conversation points. Meanwhile, social networking sites like Facebook are blocked and international TV news broadcasts are restricted to financial stations like CNBC. Al-Jazeera, BBC and CNN are unsighted and you can’t buy a magazine at the International terminal of Tan Son Nhut Airport.
‘Essentially this is still a communist government. They have a market economy, but underneath they’re still a socialist state,’ says Pringle, a former Reuters, Times of London and Newsweek correspondent from the rooftop of the Majestic.
The population of Ho Chi Minh City (as Hanoi insists on calling it) has tripled to about six million people since ‘liberation.’ Its infrastructure remains US built, but is getting old, and creaks.
Vietnam doesn’t warrant comparisons with Burma or North Korea, but like the belligerent Junta in Rangoon and the paranoid hermits of Pyongyang, dissent is deeply frowned upon. This was evident by a crackdown leading up to the 35th anniversary.
Photo Credit: Luke Hunt
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Lilian
My family visit me in Australia – Hm they said there are lots of news re: Vietnam VS China they are not aware such as Paracel Islands & Spratly Islands etc. Hm, how many “normal/average” Vietnamese people have 1 chance in their life to leave in a hotel – especially a 5 stars hotel? And are you sure that all the news are not screened? Well for those that Vietnam has freedom of speech then try to sit in an internet cafe’ and go on expressing your different view of politic to the current Vietnamese Government/requesting for other politic parties operating in Vietnam – then you will have an eye’s opener. What did happen to blogger “Me Nam” when she expressing her ponit of view on Paracel Islands & Spratly Islands? and many more. Oh yes, others said people in Vietnam live happily and don’t have many protests etc. Well, in the whole country – how many poor people out there? They have to find work/food everyday and many family I said have to find food every meal. So do they have time to raise their voices? And also since they don’t have choices in what they view/hear – they have to adapt to it after a long time. I remember my mum said when she stayed here after 3 months – Quote: “I was blind, deaf and stupid after these years living in Vietnam under the Communist regime”- Hm, when I returned to VN a few years ago I saw many little kids and twice (at different places) I saw 3 years old girls selling lottery tickets… Now look at your children – what do they do when they are 3 years old – then compare to these 2 little babies? And many 5-12 years old kids have to help their family finding food. Other Countries provided financial assistance to the poor people – but those supports did not arrive to the right places or if they arrive – it’s so so little – Corruption from the top I said. If you can understand Vietnamese then go to this website – the president of Vietnam – Nguyen Minh Triet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7AAk0LRKg&feature=related
And … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5kS-xFvN7A&feature=related (I am speechless with this)
Dean
I think Luke Hunt was bias in this article and have not waken up since 1975 experience, I was staying Majestic hotel October 2010 and I could watch the 30 plus English broadcasting channels from my hotel room TV as though I was still sitting in my home living room in Canada, I didn’t see any restriction.
Ronald
Living in Hanoi, I’d like to add my insights, for what they’re worth.
There are some inaccuracies in this article. Yes, BBC and CNN are on TV which you pay only $4 per month (for 50 channels). I watch them often.
Facebook is blocked but the block can be gotten around. Of course, if you are not technically sophisticated, you will not get around the block.
The government does control speech here. Bloomberg wrote that the VN government will continue to destroy the value of the dong and (surprise, surprise) Bloomberg was taken off the air. Now, you get a test pattern where Bloomberg used to be. The message is clear: Say something the government does not like and you can kiss your business goodbye.
I write this from Hanoi but I will transmit it via a server in Europe because I do fear the government taking some action against my family.
This country is extremely corrupt. If you want anything done, you must pay a bribe – even to get your water turned on if you are building a house. The bribes are not much, but you must pay.
Unlike some have written, this is not a nation of laws. There is no respect for the law here. There is respect for connections. Every day you see police in the streets not enforcing the laws they should but enforcing the laws that put money into their pocket. Run a red light and almost hit a pedestrian, no problem. You can either fill out a bunch of paperwork and pay a huge fine, or pay the policeman $10 and get a ticket for not wearing a helmet.
To say the Vietnamese fear a polluted environment is a joke. People here (for the most part) don’t care about the environment. They care only for what is convenient. They care only about themselves. Do they sell poisoned food like the Chinese? Absolutely they do. There was a news story (on VTV3) a few months ago about Vietnamese buying dead and diseased pigs (they were cheap), roasting them with strong spices, and selling them at local markets. The people who ate these pigs ended up with their own flesh rotting. The pictures were truly frightening. Again, this was a Vietnamese news channel.
Of course, there are good things about Vietnam. No place is all good or all bad. However, I see inaccuracies from both the author and from the commenters. Hopefully, this will set some straight.
Juchechosunmanse
Vietnam is the Tiger? LOL. Since when? Korea has been known as the Tiger (it is even in the KFA emblem). I certainly think Vietnam has come a long way to be where it is today, but the author is seriously overestimating Vietnam’s potentials. Vietnam can’t even dominate southeast Asia (Thailand won’t let it) for God’s sake!
Thinh Vu
“Vietnam is the Tiger? LOL. Since when?”
Good question. I don’t know for sure. Looking back recent history, Vietnam has fought the French till 1954, the Americans till 1973, the Chinese on and off till 1988. Those were wars that they did not start but had to finish. They now seem to struggle to shrug off poverty but has made some progress.
During those times, South Korea has enjoyed peacetime and economic development with full US military protection. The world admires your successes but Vietnam deserves a little more than a LOL, I believe.
By the way, as a descent from the South, I am grateful for the Korean assistance during the 60s and 70s. The cornerstone at my parish church had the Taegeukgi on it. Best regards.
Korea’s Finest
Great point. due to its strategically desirable feature as a peninsula, Korea has been visited by invaders since time immemorial, and it certainly has had its share of hardship. In the modern era however, there are few if any nations that can lay claim to having endured more suffering than Vietnam.
Vietnam has fought bravely, making incredible use of meager resources to secure its freedom.
From all of us in Korea and around the world, we wish the people of Vietnam the best of luck.
Nick Brian
First and foremost: Vietnamese people speaks Vietnamese, we are pragmatists, that clearly distinguish ourselves from Chinese.
When it comes to Democracy, Freedom, Liberty, happiness… ; We should ask questions like Do these values take priorities? Shall we analyze the quote from the US President Franklin D Roosevelt : Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Vietnam shares a border with the most unscrupulous country, so instead of investing resources into education, health care, environment instead we have to spend a Hercules amount of money into defense force in order to protect our peaceful, harmonious country. This is 21st country, there is still a bully country which tries to dominate smaller nations. We’re terrified of fake goods, contaminated foods, toys, unscrupulous values, polluted air, polluted water, rotten attitudes, fragile society.
Vietnam embrace the ENGLISH Language wholeheartedly, We embrace the quote from Mr Gandhi with regard to Western Civilization: We embrace Western Excellent Values such as Laws, Technology and we know where to get them.
History has not been kind to Vietnam, however we perceive “TIME” like Mr Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now.
We need time to develop our country, We’re determined to build a Quality Education System that can produce at least 80% of the population, who can think independently, who know how to read books, to discern between good and evil, this is the 1st priority, once we have the 1st priority then we have freedom, liberty, joy, love, peace…
Respect and the Power of Now
Ksou
With America owing about 1 trillion to China I find a good amount of importance in the words “‘If the West wants to understand China and how best to engage with it, then it will find no more knowledgeable and serious guide than Vietnam.”
Something doesn’t feel right about owing that much money to a nation that has a long history of dominating other countries for thousands of years. Of course if someone would of told us in 1965 that Vietnam wasn’t just an extension of communist China the whole war could of been avoided.
Anyway, it looks like China is starting to fund Chinese language classes in schools in the US, I’m going to try to learn some mandarin.