Today, Vietnam has made significant achievements in its economy, health, education and urban sectors. The recent conclusion of the APEC meeting in Hanoi, showed the international community just how much of an “Asian Tiger” Vietnam hopes to become. What must people did not see on the news while following President Bush and others travel to Vietnam was the preparation the Vietnamese government in order to exert a good image.
Peasants around Vietnam were carted off weeks before and relocated to camps outside of Hanoi’s city limits. Soldiers were particularly sent to homes of political dissidents (Pham Que Duong, Hoang Tien, Nguyen Khac Toan, Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, Nguyen Phuong Anh) that were under house arrest. In addition, my sources from Vietnam stated that the international media was trying to contact several citizens to talk to them about Vietnam. However, they were either forced from seeing these individuals or the Vietnamese government cut off their telephone lines to prevent communication.
The Vietnamese government must take several steps to opening up its country and fixing its internal social crisis such as population growth so that Vietnam can emerge as a full grown “Asian Tiger” in the future.
