Key events:

• Central Party Committee Appoints To Lam as Communist Party Secretary
• Vietnam Fails ‘Market Economy’ Status Assessment, U.S. Department of Commerce Announces
• Thai Court Begins First Teleconference Hearing on Y Quynh Bdap’s Extradition
• Long An Police Department Arrests a Member of a U.S.-based Organization on ‘Subversion’ Charges
• Police Issue Numerous Fines for Internet Users Accused of Violating Cybersecurity Decrees

Central Party Committee Elects To Lam as Communist Party Secretary

The Central Party Committee convened an extraordinary session on Aug. 3, during which it elected President To Lam as the general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party. The decision came after previous party chief Nguyen Phu Trong died on July 19, leaving a power vacuum for the party’s top job.

To Lam, a police general who oversaw the sweeping anti-graft drive and was exposed eating a gold-encrusted steak at an upscale London restaurant in 2021 that prompted public outrage, received unanimous approval from the Central Committee in a vote on that same day. The career police officer spent over five decades ascending through the Ministry of Public Security ranks until he was named president last May after his predecessor resigned due to an alleged corruption scandal. Lam continues to retain his presidential position.