Thayer Consultancy

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Background Briefing: Vietnam: Draft Decree on Internet Imposes New Controls Carlyle A. Thayer April 17, 2012

[clientnamedeleted] 1. Regarding the new draft decree on the internet in Vietnam: is this a move to censortheinternet?Doyouthinkitislikelytopass? ANSWER:ThedraftDecreeisanotherstepintighteningtheviseofcensorshipand control of the Internet in Vietnam by the Ministry of Information and Communications.Itisnowbeingcirculatedforpubliccomment.Theremaybesight amendmentsbutmyassessmentisthatitwillbepromulgatedrelativelyunchanged inJune. 2.Whatdoyoumakeofit? ANSWER:ThedraftDecreeisanattempttocatchupwithevolvingtechnology.The Decreerepresentsnewrestrictionsnotsomuchinsubstancebutinkind.Itsetsout detailed measures that individuals, commercial firms and service providers much complywith.Individualswouldalsobeforcedtorevealtheirrealnamesiftheyuse pseudonyms. Article7ofthedraftDecreeiskey.Itrepeatspreviousmyriadrestrictionsembodied in Vietnamese laws and Government decrees and repackages them to tie these restrictions directly to the use of the Internet (i.e., electronic transmission) by individualcustomers,organizations,serviceprovidersandgovernmentagencies. 3.Whatdoyouthinkaspromptedthegovernmenttoactnow? ANSWER: There are three reasons which may explain the release of this draft Decree.First,thisdraftDecreeisthelatestevolutioninInternetrestrictionsimposed by the Ministry of Information and Communications. Vietnamese government officials do not want to loose their ability to control information and public expression.ThisdraftDecreeisanattempttokeepupwiththetimes. Second, the draft Decree is prompted by concern over the use of the Internet by politicalactivists,socialcommentators,andbloggerswhohavefreelyexpressedtheir views.Onemainconcernisthelinkagebetweendomesticcommentaryandforeign policy.AstensionswithChinaovertheSouthChinaSeahavepromptedVietnamto stepupstrategicanddefencecooperationwiththeUnitedStates.Vietnamandthe United States are negotiating an agreement on strategic partnership. This year, if pastprotocolofexchangingvisitsbydefenseministerseverythreeyearsisobserved,

2 Secretary Leon Panetta should be visiting Hanoi. No doubt the U.S. elections in November have added pressuretoreachagreement and hostavisitsoonerrather thanlater. Somepartyultraconservativesareleeryaboutpeacefulevolutionanditsimpact ondomesticpoliticsaswellasrelationswithChina.ThedraftDecreewouldtighten thescrewoninternaldissidentsandseverelyrestricttheiractivitiesbymakingthem aswellascommercialserviceprovidersresponsibleformaterialbroadcastorstored ontheInternet. Third, the draft Decree has no doubt been drawn up with an eye on TransPacific Partnership(TPP)negotiationswiththeUnitedStates.Inthissenseitmaybeviewed as a preemptive move to get a Decree on the books before TPP negotiations are finalized. The draft Decree aims to assert control over foreignenterprises providing Internet services to Vietnam even to the extent of requiring them to open representative offices in Vietnam. Foreign companies would be forced under this Decree to co operateincensorshipbyinstallingfirewallsandothermonitoringtechnology,report violations of Article 7 to Government authorities, and disclose information on customers. Foreign companies would be required to provide the name of their officerswhohaveresponsibilityforapplyingthisDecreeintheirdailyoperations.In otherword,byrequiringrepresentativeofficestobesetupinVietnam,Vietnamese security authorities would be able to gain physical access to these individuals and apprehendthemifnecessary. 4. It is expected that another piece of legislation requiring payTV channels to provideVietnamesesubtitleswillcomeintoeffectinMay.Isthegovernmentgetting tighteronnewamedia?Ifso,againwhynow? ANSWER:TherearetwoaspectsofrequiringpayTVchannelstoprovideVietnamese subtitles. The first is culturalideological and relates to the partys view of Vietnamese national identity. Approved foreign films with Vietnamese subtitles would be more accessible to a wider audience. Second, this requirement is also designedasatradebarriertoprotectVietnamsdomesticTVmovieindustryandto addcoststotheimportationofforeignlanguagematerial. WhenVietnamfirstannounceddoimoithethenpartysecretarygeneralwarnedthat if you opened the windows flies and mosquitoes would fly in. The same applies today. Vietnams eleventh party congress set the goal of proactively integration with the global economy. This means that the ultra conservative guardians of Vietnamese ideology and culture must redouble their efforts to insulate Vietnam fromforeignnegativephenomena.

Thayer Consultancy
ABN # 65 648 097 123

Background Briefing: Vietnams Draft Decree on Internet Management Carlyle A. Thayer April 17, 2012

[client name deleted] 1. To what degree does this decree appear to just put in black and white a lost of existingrestrictions?Forexample,Article7laysoutahostofprohibitionsofInternet content,butImnotsurewhetherthesereallyrepresentnewrestrictions.Article14 talks about creating a national Internet transit station, and Im curious to know whetherthisissomethingthatalreadyexists. ANSWER: Article 7 repeats previous restrictions embodied in various Vietnamese lawsandGovernmentdecrees[seeexcerptsbelow].Italso repackagesthemtotie theserestrictionsdirectlytotheuseoftheInternet(i.e.,electronictransmission)by individual customers, organizations, service providers and government agencies. In other words, the Decree is an attempt to catch up with evolving technology. The Decreerepresentsnewrestrictionsnotsomuchinsubstancebutinkindsettingout detailed measures that commercial firms and service providers much comply with. Individualswouldalsobeforcedtorevealtheirrealnamesiftheyusepseudonyms. Regarding Article 14 and its reference to the National Internet Transit Station. Vietnam:VietnamfirstformedaVNIXinHanoiinNovember2003andasecondVNIX in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2004. Article 14 is mainly focused on commerce and revenueearningforGovernmentauthorities. 2.WhatmighthisdecreemeanfortheongoingTransPacificPartnershiptradetalks, inwhichtheU.S.istryingtocreatenewstandardsofhefreeflowofdata?Does thisappeartosignalthatVietnamisplainlyagainstthisapproach? ANSWER: This draft Decree has no doubt been drafted with an eye on TPP negotiationswiththeUnitedStates.Itaimstoassertcontroloverforeignenterprises providing a variety of Internet services to Vietnam even to the extent of requiring themtoopenrepresentativeofficesinVietnam.Foreigncompanieswouldbeforced under this Decree to cooperate in censorship by installing firewalls and other monitoringtechnology,reportviolationsofArticle7toGovernmentauthorities,and discloseinformationoncustomers.Foreigncompanieswouldberequiredtoprovide the name of their officers who have responsibility for applying this Decree in their daily operations. In other word, by requiring representative offices to be set up in Vietnam, Vietnamese security authorities would be able to gain physical access to theseindividualsandapprehendthemifnecessary.

2 ThedraftDecreehasprovisionsthatwouldenableVietnamtocrackdownmoreon Internetpiracy,aconcerntothosepromotingtheTPP.Ontheotherhand,andmore significantly,theDecreecontainsprovisionsthatdefinitelywouldimpedethefree flowofdataandthusarebarriertotrade. In 2010, on the fifteenth anniversary of U.S.Vietnam diplomatic relations, I wrote, Fourissuesneedresolution:theeasingofrestrictiononaccesstotheInternet,the conclusionofabilateralinvestmenttreaty,approvalforanincreaseinstaffworking at the U.S. Embassy, and raising educational cooperation to permit American universities to operate in Vietnam. There were approximately 200 American universities that had signed various memoranda of understanding on educational cooperation with their Vietnamese counterparts. Very few of these MOUs were implemented. One common threat was Vietnams refusal to loosen up restrictions on the Internet so American students studying in Vietnam could have unfettered accesstheInternet. 3.WereyouawarethatthisdraftDecreewascomingdownthepipeline,orhasthis beenexpectedforsometime?Anddoyouhaveanysenseofwhythisiscomingup atthisparticularjuncture? ANSWER:IwasnotawarethatthisDecreewascomingdownthepipelinebutIam notsurprised.IhavebeenwritingforsometimethatVietnamisintentontightening upcontrolsovertheInternet. Whyhasthedecreeappearedatthismomentintime?Letmespeculate.Thereare possiblefourreasonswhichmayexplainthereleaseofthisdraftDecree.First,this draftDecreeisthelatestevolutioninInternetrestrictionsimposedbytheMinistryof InformationandCommunications.Vietnamesegovernmentofficialsdonotwantto losetheirabilitytocontrolinformationandpublicexpression.ThisdraftDecreeisan attempt to keep up with the times and restrict activity not adequately covered by earlierlegislationanddecree. Second, the draft Decree is prompted by concern over the use of the Internet by politicalactivists,socialcommentators,andbloggerswhohavefreelyexpressedtheir views.Onemainconcernisthelinkagebetweendomesticcommentaryandforeign policy.AstensionswithChinaovertheSouthChinaSeahaverisenthishasprompted Vietnam to step up strategic and defence cooperation with the United States. Vietnam and the United States are negotiating an agreement on strategic partnership. This year, if past protocol of exchanging visits by defense ministers every threeyears is observed, Secretary LeonPanetta should be visiting Hanoi. No doubttheU.S.electionsinNovemberhaveaddedpressuretoreachagreementona strategicpartnershipandhostavisitbySecretaryPanettasoonerratherthanlater. Somepartyultraconservativesareleeryaboutpeacefulevolutionanditsimpact ondomesticpoliticsaswellasrelationswithChina.ThedraftDecreewouldtighten thescrewoninternaldissidentsandseverelyrestricttheiractivitiesbymakingthem aswellascommercialserviceprovidersresponsibleformaterialbroadcastorstored ontheInternet. Third, the draft Decree has no doubt been drawn up with an eye on TransPacific Partnership(TPP)negotiationswiththeUnitedStates.Inthissenseitmaybeviewed

3 as a preemptive move to get a Decree on the books before TPP negotiations are finalized. Andfourth,thedraftDecreemayhaveappearedasaresultofinternalbureaucratic processesinaccordwithsomepreviouslyagreedworkschedule All of the above or any combination may explain the appearance of the Decree at thistime. BACKGROUND The following is an excerpt from my The Apparatus of Authoritarian Rule in Viet Nam, SEARC Working Paper Series No. 118, Hong Kong: Southeast Asia Research Centre, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, January2012: WhentheInternetwasfirstintroducedinVietNamgovernmentauthoritiessetup firewalls to prevent access to sites they considered politically subversive. These included sites maintained by overseas Vietnamese anticommunist groups, internationalhumanrightsorganizationsandinternationalnewsoutletssuchasthe Vietnamese language services of Radio Free Asia (RFA) and the Voice of America (VOA).TherestrictionsonVOAwererelaxedin2009butremaininplaceforRFA.In late December 2009, these firewalls were extended to include the Vietnamese serviceoftheBBCandFacebook. The Ministry of Public Security and General Directorate II regularly monitor telephones, facsimile transmissions, post, email, Internet and mobile phones. Members of Bloc 8406 have attempted to evade detection by utilizing digital telephoneandencryptiontechnologyonwebsites providedbyVoiceOverInternet Protocol providers such as PalTalk, Skype and Yahoo!Messenger to organize chat roomdiscussionswithinVietNamaswellasoverseas. In 200809, Vietnamese officials faced a growing challenge to their authority political commentary on the Internet written by bloggers who had no discernable connections to the prodemocracy movement (Duy Hoang, Cuong Nguyen and Angelina Huynh 2009). For example, in early 2009 a group of seven hundred individuals signed up to a Facebook site to promote their opposition to bauxite mining (Bauxite bashers, The Economist, April 23, 2009). Other environmental activists founded an extremely popular website devoted to the bauxite mining controversy.Anumberofindependentbloggersalsoappearedandattractedpopular interestintheirblogs. Leaders of the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) were placed in the uncomfortable positionofhavingtodefendtheirhandlingofVietNamsrelationswithChinafrom criticism by nationalistminded patriotic citizens including members of the political elite. The regime responded by cracking down on its critics and moved to curtail blogging on the Internet. In May 2010, Lt. Gen Vu Hai Trieu, Deputy Director of General Directorate II, announced to a press conference that his department had destroyed 300 bad internet web pages and individual blogs (quoted in Human RightsWatchAsia2010b).

4 Government critics charged that GD II had come under Beijings political influence andwasusingitssophisticatedelectronicequipmenttoidentifyantiChinaactivists (Crispin2009).In2010,aseriesofDenialofServiceAttacksonThongLuan,apolitical commentary website, and Dong Chua Cuu The Viet Nam, a Catholic website, were tracedtoInternetProtocol(IP)addressesbelongingtoViettel,acompanyownedby theMinistryofNationalDefence(HumanRightsWatchAsia2010b). It is likely that specialists units within the MPS were also involved in the unprecedented cyber attacks directed against independent blog sites starting in September2009andintensifyinginAprilMay2010.Duringthisperiodcyberattacks were launched against more than two dozen websites and blogs maintained by Catholics(onlandissues),politicaldiscussionforums,oppositionpoliticalgroupsand environmentalists(bauxitemining). HackersinvadedtheOsinblogsiteinJanuary2010andpostedfabricatedmessages statingthattheowner,journalistHuyDuc,wasretiringbecauseheranoutofnew ideas(VietThan2010).AfabricatednotealsoappearedonDCVOnline,anewsand discussion site, announcing the sites closure due to internal conflict. Hackers accessedthediscussionforumxcafevn.orgsdatabaseandpostedtheloginnames, email,locationandIPaddressesofover19,000usersontheweb.Fabricatedprofiles ofadministratorsandactivistsassociatedwithxcafevn.orgwerepostedonwww.x cafenv.db.info.Insum,[t]heobjectivewastomakethewebcommunitybelievethat Hanois intelligence agents working with hackers could obtain dossiers on virtually anyVietnameseactivistorinternetuser(VietThan2010). Independent investigations by Google and McAfee, a major internet security company,determinedthatthemajorityofcommandandcontrolserversinvolvedin the cyber attacks were executed through IP addresses inside Viet Nam. McAfees chief technical officer, George Kurtz, concluded we believe that the perpetrators mayhavepoliticalmotivationsandmayhavesomeallegiancetothegovernmentof theSocialistRepublicofVietNamThisislikelythelatestexampleofhacktivismand politically motivated cyber attacks (Human Rights Watch 2010b, emphasis in original). The Google and McAfee, investigations determined that the cyber attacks used botnet malware (W32/Vulvanbot) disguised as Vietnamese language software VPSKeystoinvadeblogsites,gatherinformationonusers,andthendirectmassive denialofservice attacks against offending websites and overseas Vietnamese computer users who accessed these sites. Neel Mehta, a member of Googles security team, concluded that the cyber attacks were directed against blogs containing messages of political dissent. Specifically, these attacks have tried to squelch opposition to bauxite mining efforts in Viet Nam; (Human Rights Watch 2010b, emphasis in original). Indeed, in December 2009January 2010 Distributed DenialofServiceattackscausedthewebsitebauxiteVietNam.infotocrash. MinistryofCultureandInformation The Ministry of Culture and Information has been one of the most proactive institutions in promulgating regulations to counter the use of the Internet by so calledcyberdissidentsandpoliticallyactiveindividualsandgroups.Forexample,the government issued Decree 55/2001, NDCP on Internet Management and Use

5 (August23,2001).ThisdecreeimposesstringentcontrolsovertheInternetincluding onerous requirements on cyber caf owners to report breaches of the law. A subsequentregulationissuedinAugust2005madeitillegaltouseInternetresources to oppose the state; destabilize security, the economy or social order; infringe the rightsoforganisationsandindividuals,andinterferewiththestatesDomainName System servers. A study by OpenNet Initiative in 2006 of Viet Nams efforts to controlInternetusagediscoveredthattheMinistryofPublicServicegavepriorityto blocking access to websites that contained information related toViet Nams 1999 landbordertreatywithChinaandotherpoliticalcommentary. TheMinistryofCultureandInformationhasrespondedtotheuseoftheInternetby cyber dissidents by requiring government officials to enforce stricter controls. In mid2007, for example, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City were required to suppress thedisseminationofantigovernmentmaterialsontheInternetbyhostileforces.At the same time restrictions were imposed limiting access to satellite television. In August 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Information commenced inspections of InternetaccesspointsinHanoi,HaiPhong,DaNang,HoChiMinhCityandCanTho toensurecompliance. On August 3, 2007, the Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications directed provincial authorities to strengthen inspection and control of public Internetcafesandwarnedthatseverepunishmentswouldbemetedouttoviolators who downloaded and spread poisonous and harmful information. Government ministriesandagencieswereaskedtocompilealistofallbannedInternetsitesand services. On August 7, 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Information temporarily closed a popular Hanoi website launched by VVT Innovative Solutions Co. Ltd. VVT was chargedwithpermittingthepublicationofarticleswithinaccurateinformationthat violated the Press Law and Government Decree No. 55. Authorities took particular exception to material on the web forum that criticized the government for reportedly making concessions to China during negotiations on the 1999 border treatyandmaterialthatdiscussedcorruptionintheVCPsrelationswiththeUnited States,anddemandsforpoliticalchange. In 2007, following its inspection of Internet access sites in 61 provinces and cities, the Ministry of Culture and Information took steps to reinforce firewalls to block materialdeemedsubversiveandharmfultonationalsecurity.TheMinistrydirected Viet Nams only Internet gateway, Viet Nam Data Communications Co., to block websites based on a list to be drawn up and regularly updated by the Ministry of Public Security. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued regulationsrequiringInternetcafownerstoobtainspeciallicensesrequiringchecks into their family, professional and financial backgrounds. The Ministry also announced that Internet service providers would be held responsible for blocking antigovernmentwebsites.Internetserviceproviderswerealsorequiredtoobtain photoIDsandmonitorandstoreinformationontheonlineactivitiesofusers. On October 10, 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued a Decision requiringallbusinessestoobtainalicensebeforesettingupanewwebsite.Under the Ministrys Decision, Internet content providers were only allowed to distribute

6 information for which they had been licensed and were required to keep detailed recordsofcontactinformation.Internetcontentproviderswerealsoforbiddenfrom posting information that incited people against the government or caused hostility between different ethnic groups. In 2007, Viet Nam identified nearly 2,000 subversive Internetsites, includingThong Luan, Han Nam Quan, Con Ong, Con Vit, Vietbaoonline and Ky Con. The Viet Nam Data Corporation has responsibility for manuallyfilteringthesesites. Further Internet restrictions were imposed in 2008. On 28th August the Prime MinisterissuedDecreeNo.97makingitillegaltoabusetheinternettoopposethe government, disclosing national secrets, and providing distorted information. In December,theMinistryofCultureandInformationissuedInformationCircularNo.7 mandatingthatbloggersrestricttheirpostingstopersonalmattersandproscribing materialthattouchedonpolitics,mattersconsideredstatesecrets,subversiveora threattosocialorderandnationalsecurity. InNovember2008,securityofficialsmovedmoreaggressivelytointerferewithifnot shutdownFacebooksiteswhereantibauxiteminingblogshadbeensetup(Stocking 2009). In this respect they were mimicking China where authorities blocked Facebook in July, and subsequently imposed restrictions on Twitter and YouTube. ThestatealsorespondedtoCatholiclandprotestsbyblockingCatholicwebsites. Mostrecently, onApril26,2010,thePeoplesCommitteeof Hanoi issuedDecision No. 15/2010/QDUBND requiring the installation of Internet Service Retailers Management Software (or Green Dam) in all computers used by Internet cafs, hotels,restaurants,airport,busstationsandotherlocationsprovidingaccesstothe Webbytheendoftheyear.Thissoftwarewillallowthegovernmenttotrackuser activitiesandblockaccesstowebsites. UnderDecision15,internetusersinHanoiareprohibitedfromdoinganythingonline to opposethegovernmentoftheSocialistRepublicofVietNam;endangernational security, stability, public safety; disrupt the unity and harmony of the people; propagate war; create hatred, conflicts between minority groups, religious groups;provokeviolence,pornography,crimes,socialunrest,stereotypes;impair cultural values; or call for illegal demonstrations, boycotts, unlawful gatherings forgrievancesandcomplaints. GroupsTargetedforRepression HarassmentofBloggers.OverthesevenmonthperiodfromNovember2009toMay 2010, Viet Nam detained four independent bloggers and subjected them to extendedinterrogations.In2009,journalistHuyDucbloggedunderthepseudonym OsinandwrotecommentaryabouthumanrightsintheSovietUnion.Hewasfired from his job with Saigon Thiep Thi (Saigon Marketing) newspaper as a result of pressurefromsecurityofficials.BuiThanhHieu,whobloggedunderthenameNguoi Buon Gio (Wind Trader or Wind Merchant), posted commentary critical of Viet Nams handling of relations with China, Catholic land disputes and bauxite mining. Hieuwasrepeatedlyinterrogatedbypolicein200809forhisroleininstigatinganti ChinaprotestsandarrestedinAugust(Stocking2009).

7 NguyenNgocNhuQuynh,whobloggedunderthenameMeNam(Mamma/Mother Mushroom), also posted blogs that discussed relations with China, bauxite mining andterritorialdisputesintheSouthChinaSea.Shewasquestionedbypoliceforher involvementinprintingtshirtswiththesloganNoBauxite,NoChina;Spratlysand ParacelsbelongtoVietNam(Stocking2009). Andfinally,bloggerPhamDoanTrangwasdetainedunderprovisionsofVietNams nationalsecuritylawforherpostingsontheSouthChinaSea,the1954partitioning of Viet Nam, and Chinas role as a hegemonic power (Deutsche Presse Agentur, August 31, 2009). She was later released when police concluded that she was not linkedtoanypoliticaldissidentnetwork.Forherpart,Trangstatedshehadlearned todiscussonlypersonalmattersontheinternetandvowedtosteerclearofpolitical topics.

Thayer Consultancy
ABN # 65 648 097 123

Background Briefing: Vietnams Draft Decree on Internet Management Follow Up Carlyle A. Thayer May 6, 2012

Background: ExtractfromThayerConsultancyBackgroundBriefing,April17,2012: There were approximately 200 American universities that had signed various memoranda of understanding on educational cooperation with their Vietnamese counterparts. Very few of these MOUs were implemented. One common threa[d] wasVietnamsrefusaltoloosenuprestrictionsontheInternetsoAmericanstudents studyinginVietnamcouldhaveunfetteredaccesstheInternet[emphasisadded]. [clientnamedeleted] We have a query regarding your recent briefing on the proposed Internet decree (http://www.scribd.com/doc/89937585/ThayerVietnamsDraftDecreeon InternetManagement).Weareinterestedinthisapparentimpasseinimplementing MemorandaofUnderstandingbetweenAmericanUniversitiesandtheirVietnamese counterparts,andwerequestifyouwouldexplainhowandwhyyouthinkVietnam's InternetcontrolsareholdinguptheMOUimplementationprocess.Anadministrator atanAmericanuniversitystates Vietnam'sInternetcontrolsarenota bigfactorin holdinguptheprocess.Wouldyoukindlyclarifyyourpointre:theseMOUs? ANSWER:Ontheoccasionofthe15thanniversaryoftheestablishmentofdiplomatic relationsbetweentheUSandVietnaminJuly2010Iwasaskedtowriteanarticlefor the Asia Pacific Bulletin for the EastWest Center Washington office. In my last paragraph I identified major challenges to relations to the bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam. I noted that some party conservatives viewededucationalexchangesaspartoftheplotofpeacefulevolution.Inotedthat restrictionsontheuseoftheInternetwereanissue.AndInotedthatVietnamwas laggingingivingpermissionforAmericanuniversitiestooperateinVietnam.Atthat timetherewerearound200MOUsontherecordthathadnotbeenactedon. Allofthispredatesthecurrentinternetdecree.Iamsuretherearemoreissuesthan just access to the Internet that are impeding educational cooperation. There was evidencethatsomeuniversitieswereconcernedthatAmericanstudentsstudyingin Vietnamwouldbedisadvantagedbyinternetrestrictionsandwantedthemlifted.I think the point I would make is that the conservative argument about peaceful evolutionislinkedtocontrolovertheInternet.AnyAmericanpushtoliftrestrictions

2 would be viewed by conservatives as further evidence that the US is seeking to overturnsocialisminVietnamandthateducationalcooperationisoneofthemajor means(thePeaceCorpshasalsobeencondemnedinsimilarterms). [clientnamedeletedMay3]: We are interested to know if any American universities have singled out Internet controlsastheprimarybarriertoestablishingeducationalprogramsinVietnam.Can youprovidethenamesofanysuchschools,ifyouhavethatinformationonfile. ANSWER: I havereviewedtheVietnamUnitedStatesRelations2010files Iusedto write the article for the Asia Pacific Bulletin and cannot find a single American university on record as singling out internet controls as the primary barrier to establishingeducationalprogramsinVietnam.Ihaveanecdotalevidencethataccess totheinternethasbeenraisedindiscussionsbutinreviewingmyfilescannotfind anyhardevidencethatthisis"a"or"the"majorconcern. The reverse is the case. Vietnam is foot dragging on its own internal educational reformsandmovingveryslowlytopermitAmerican(andotherforeign)universities to enter the educational market place in large numbers. The slowness in implementingMOUsismostlikelyafeatureofVietnamesebureaucraticinertia.Isay "mostlikely"becausethedataIhaveisonlygeneral.Oneimportantelementisthat somepartyconservativeideologuesreallybelievethattheUSispursuingthe"plotof peacefulevolution"andlinktheirconcernsto(a)USpromotionofhumanrights(b) US government pressure to loosen up on internet controls and (c) US universities and Peace Corps. This no doubt makes consensus decisionmaking difficult on agreeingtoimplementsomanyMOUs. Inretrospect,Ishouldhaverewordedthesentence"Onecommonthreat[should read thread] was Vietnams refusal to loosen up restrictions on the Internet so Americanstudentsstudying in Vietnam could have unfettered access the Internet" to:"OnecommonthreadwasconcernsbyVietnamesepartyconservativesaboutthe impact of increased numbers of American students studying in Vietnam using the internet to access information that Vietnamese authorities prefer to restrict and spreadingideasofpoliticalpluralismanddemocracyamongstVietnamesestudents." But,asnotedabove,themainimpedimenttoimplementingthetwohundredMOUs lieswithVietnam'sbureaucracy.