Vietnam Uses Cybersecurity Decrees to Repress Online Criticisms of Late Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong

Key criticizing:

• Vietnam Represses Criticisms of Late Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong Before State Funeral
• U.S., Japan, and Korea Diplomats Announce Plans to Attend Nguyen Phu Trong’s Funeral
• YouTuber Specialized in Filming Pagodas Fined for ‘Causing Religious Divisions’

Vietnam Represses Criticisms of Late Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong Before State Funeral

Vietnamese authorities have utilized cybersecurity decrees to fine internet users and ordered social media platforms to remove online postings criticizing the late Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong. Trong, who ruled the country with an iron fist and carried out a comprehensive clampdown on freedom of expression, died at the age of 80 last week due to prolonged health issues.

On July 20 and 21, the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department summoned three internet users. It fined them under Article 101 of Decree 15/2020, which regulates the circulation of information on the internet. The three were charged with  allegedly sharing and posting “false, fabricated, and distorted information denying the great achievements and contributions of comrade Nguyen Phu Trong” and “discrediting party and state leaders.”

Two of those social media users, whose names were written in initials on Vietnamese newspapers, each received a fine of between 5 and 7.5 million dong ($197 and $295) for their alleged online misconduct. Another only received a warning and promised not to repeat his mistake. Furthermore, the cybersecurity department announced they would continue to “review and verify similar activities of social media users who slander state leaders and discipline them under the law.” 

Similarly, on July 21, Vietnamese social media commentators from the northern province of Hoa Binh who discussed the death of Nguyen Phu Trong on social media were questioned and received a fine for publishing “distorted information” that insulted his honor and dignity. Two social media users who live in Hoa Binh Province’s Lac Thuy and Lac Duong communes, who reportedly “shared articles and comments that criticized the people expressing their condolences for Trong,” were disciplined under the same Decree 15/2020. The sharing and posting of such information had “stirred anger among the public,” state media writes.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has requested that social media platforms like Meta’s Facebook remove or hide postings by Vietnamese human rights defenders who criticized Nguyen Phu Trong’s enduring legacy of civil rights restrictions.

For example, former prisoner of conscience Pham Thanh Nghien, who resides in Texas, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that she received a notice from Facebook on July 22 which informed her that the company restricted two of her recent postings about the passing of Trong on its platform. Facebook explained to Nghien that it had restricted the visibility of her postings in Vietnam due to “a legal request” from the MIC.

One of Nghien’s commentaries discussed the late general secretary's controversial legacy; the other reminded the public of President To Lam’s luxurious meal, which included a gold-encrusted steak, at a London restaurant in 2021. Lam is perceived to be a likely successor to the general secretary.

Meta has reportedly restricted the postings of other newspapers critical of the Vietnamese government. Le Trung Khoa, a Vietnamese journalist who runs a Berlin-based news outlet, Thoi Bao (thoibao.de), said the tech giant restricted his newspaper’s stories about the late party chief for the Vietnamese audience. He said the company informed him that four postings were unavailable in Vietnam due to a similar order from the communications ministry.

U.S., Japan, and late general secretary's controversial legacy; Diplomats Announce Plans to Attend Nguyen Phu Trong’s Funeral

The U.S. Department of State announced on July 22 the Asia trip of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where he would travel to Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Mongolia between July 24 and August 3, 2024. During the Vietnam visit, Secretary Blinken is scheduled to attend the funeral of the Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and further consolidate the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnamese government leaders, the statement said.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga are also expected to be present during the state funeral of Nguyen Phu Trong, scheduled for July 25 and 26, their government offices declared on July 23. According to the announcement, Prime Minister Han will visit Vietnam from July 24 to 25, and former Prime Minister Suga will attend the funeral on July 25. Hanoi also upgraded its diplomatic relations with Japan and South Korea to the highest level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last year.

YouTuber Specialized in Filming Pagodas Fined for ‘Causing Religious Divisions’

On July 23, the Cao Lanh City Police Department in Dong Thap Province issued a fine of 7.5 million dong for a YouTuber who filmed local pagodas and shared the videos on social media. According to the police, these videos were fined because they allegedly “shared and published false information that insulted the reputation of other religious organizations and caused separationism.” The police did not provide further information regarding the alleged slanderous content.

Nguyen Binh Dan, 40, owns a YouTube channel with over 11,000 subscribers. He regularly uploads footage of local pagodas in Cao Lanh City. Dan was summoned for questioning after the police said they received a report of a “suspicious man” filming a pagoda in the fourth ward of the city.

The authorities later announced that this YouTube channel “contained many videos with false and divisive content on religions.” They also requested that this YouTuber remove these divisive videos voluntarily.

Quick takes:

Authorities Request Wife of Prisoner of Conscience Dang Dang Phuoc to Cease Advocating for her Husband:

Le Thi Ha, wife of imprisoned music teacher Dang Dang Phuoc, told Project88 that Buon Me Thuot Provincial Police summoned her for questioning on July 11 due to her sharing of Phuoc’s health conditions on social media and Ha’s coincidental meeting with a diplomat from the U.S. Consulate at Phuoc Buu Pagoda, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. Furthermore, the police interrogated Ha about the interviews she had with RFA and implied that she could lose her job as a teacher if she did not cease advocating for her husband. Last May, Phuoc was kept in a solitary cell as a punishment for trying to hand his wife a piece of paper with the phone number of a fellow inmate’s family.

Former Political Prisoner Who Protested Against Cybersecurity Law Reveals Dismal Prison Conditions: 

Nguyen Dinh Thanh, a former political prisoner sentenced to seven years in prison under “anti-state” charges for joining a protest against the controversial cybersecurity laws in 2018, also revealed to Project88 the substandard conditions at Xuan Loc Prison, where he was held. Thanh was freed in June this year after he was ordered to write a letter confessing to his crimes. He said the Xuan Loc Prison did not provide clean drinking water, so they had to use rainwater or purchase it from the prison canteen. Thanh added that they were only provided clean drinking water starting in 2024.

UK Government Announces Plan to Send Failed Asylum Seekers Back to Vietnam: 

The United Kingdom’s Labor Government has announced a new plan to send back around 55 Vietnamese people who had arrived in the country by boat but who failed to meet the threshold to be classified as asylum seekers. The current Labor government announced that they would repatriate these people back to Vietnam by plane, replacing the previous government’s plan to relocate those who arrived in the UK unlawfully on small boats to the eastern African country of Rwanda - known as the Rwanda scheme. Statistics show that in the first quarter of 2024, Vietnamese nationals are the highest group that has crossed the English Channel on small boats, with almost one in every five registered arrivals.

Vietnam Insights: Learn more about Vietnam

Why To Lam's Pragmatic Authoritarianism Will Be Good for Vietnam

Nikkei Asia/  Zachary Abuza/ July 22

“To Lam is a career cop. While his job within the Ministry of Public Security was to maintain the party's monopoly on power, he's not an ideologue.

Like China's Xi Jinping, Trong was against growth if it came at the expense of party control. He purged technocrats who had shifted the focus of decision-making out of party control.

While To Lam is an authoritarian, he is a pragmatist who sees the party's legitimacy -- ergo its security -- assured by growth, not being caught in the middle-income trap.”

Can Vietnam Thrive under Trump 2.0?

Fulcrum/ Nguyen Khac Giang/ July 22

“However, past successes cannot “Trump-proof” Vietnam for the second time. First, the current polarised international environment is far more challenging than in 2016. The increasing tensions between China and the US, along with Trump’s hard-line stance on China, significantly reduces the room for Vietnam’s diplomatic manoeuvrability. Hanoi has been praised for reaping the most of Sino-US rivalry by walking the tightrope between the two great powers, but this act will be much harder to perform in the second Trump presidency. Similar to other countries in the region, Trump’s “either with us or against us” approach and strong demand for loyalty might put Vietnam in a difficult position if the Sino-US relationship continues to deteriorate. Trump’s disdain for multilateral frameworks is contrary to Vietnam’s active engagement with regional institutions like ASEAN. This will complicate Hanoi’s calculations.”

Nguyen Phu Trong left Vietnam's Communist Party Ripe for Strongman Rule

Radio Free Asia/ David Hutt/ July 21

“The norms created a structure in which politicians could fight over policies, often brutally, but without the entire apparatus collapsing because of division. There could be a regular rotation between different factions and geographic networks, meaning no one group was ascendant for too long.

Hanoi called this “democratic centralism.” Of course, it’s not democracy, but it’s a form of pluralism that, in theory, had prevented the party from descending into dictatorships like North Korea, Cuba, or China under Xi Jinping.

Trong broke every one of these rules.”