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There was a relaxation in 2006 because Vietnam was hosting the APEC Summit and did not want any disruptions. Bloc 8406 rained on Hanois parade. Q2. It seems as though despite newspapers becoming more tabloid in style and pop star-obsessed a number singers/models/others face 'fines' and restrictions for skimpy outfits and other things "not suitable with traditional culture". There's a long history of this, even sanctions on trousers. Have you noticed it becoming more pronounced of late? ANSWER: Not really. In the past there was a campaign against negative phenomena that was carried out in the urban areas. But is was short-lived. Q3. Conversely the blogger who wrote the history of blogging which was posted on VOH [Vietnam Old Hacks] stated that she believes the government actually gets celebrities to "do something stupid" around the time of sensitive events as a way of distracting attention from them. Is this something any of your sources have ever mentioned to you? ANSWER: No. Q4. Do you credit any weight to the vast and still growing commercial publishing industry, especially of overseas mastheads (Cosmo, Elle, OK!) etc? ANSWER: I give the commercial publishing industry credit for become popular among the young. But I am not sure what this has to do with censorship. It is a kind of opium for the masses. It then attracts the wrath of ultra conservatives who see this as an assault on Vietnamese identity and culture.

Background Briefing: Vietnam: Censorship of the Internet Carlyle A. Thayer July 15, 2012
[client name deleted] We would like your assessment of censorship in Vietnam. Q1. Firstly, reportedly there was something of a loosening of restrictions in the mid-80s to early 90s. Authors such as Duong Thu Huong started to speak out. However, this was later quashed. Do you think censorship is cyclical in Vietnam? In 2006 there seemed to be a loosening also, promptly followed in 2007/08 with a tightening of restrictions (PMU18 etc). ANSWER: There was a general relaxation from 1986, when doi moi was introduced, to 1989, when socialism collapsed in Eastern Europe. As time passed Vietnamese learned how to evade censorship to a limited extent. One writer who was banned in Hanoi, for example, won a prize in one of the provinces for his short stories.

2 Q5. The draft decree on the internet was supposed to come into effect last month yet all has gone quiet. Do you know when if it will and why it has been delayed? ANSWER: I suspect it may have been kept under wraps because of Secretary Clintons visit to Vietnam. She made a point of urging free use of the internet in Mongolia. Q6. To Huy Rua has been credited with much of the recent tightening up of censorship issues, though some Wikileaks cables believe he cannot do much without approval from people like Truong Tan Sang (this cable was a couple of years old). Do you believe that Rua is responsible or also just working for a higher power? ANSWER: To Huy Rua was the key mover and shaker in clamping controls on the internet before the last party congress. He has now taken charge of party organisational affairs. I would look to the Minister of Information and Culture as well as the head of the party Secretariat, Le Hong Anh, the former minister of public security, as key actors in censorship policy. Q7. How much real influence does the US have to sway policy on internet censorship in Vietnam? ANSWER: The U.S. has influence to the extent that the Vietnamese really want something from the United States. Vietnam wants its president to be received at the White House, they want a strategic partnership with the U.S., and they want the U.S. to lift restrictions on arms sales. U.S. officials have made it clear none of this will happen unless human rights (including internet freedom) is improved. Despite U.S. pressures things have gotten worse. There are some in Vietnam sensitive to U.S. pressures on this. See the background briefing by Senior Administration One (Kurt Campbell) while he was in Hanoi. He provides a brief insight into the splits in the Vietnamese leadership. He argued that all grouping want to get along with the U.S. Q8. Lastly, commercial interests have become stronger in the press and public relations campaigns or similar are sometimes waged. But do you think greater commercial power in the press and other sources of revenue may help ease censorship? ANSWER: No. Money is made from commercializing and selling a product not promoting a political agenda. Political commentary is repressed. There is some censorship undertaken in the name of Vietnamese identity and culture. Commercial publishing houses know what buttons to press and no doubt let funds flow to influential party officials.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, Vietnam: Censorship of the Internet, Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, July 15, 2012.