Posted on 09/29/2006 3:07:42 PM PDT by siddude
HANOI—Vietnamese authorities are increasingly concerned over growing support for a new dissident group known as Bloc 8406, which issued an impassioned plea for democratic reform to the ruling Communist Party earlier this year.
The group claims thousands of supporters, based on signatures collected throughout Vietnam to petition the authorities for political reforms. Among the signatories are former Vietnam People’s Army officer Tran Anh Kim and a prominent Catholic priest, Nguyen Van Ly.
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This ought to tick off Kerry and Jane Fonda.
Yeah, I wonder what side they will be on if Viet Nam breaks out in a civil war. /S
No doubt.
They know how to take care of that foolishness, Just kill them like before.
Not a problem for them. All they'll need to do is send in some tanks and slaughter the entire movement and the U.S. Government will step in and give them Most Favored Nation trading status.
Hey...it's what we did with China in 1989.
There is a difference now. America is watching and the VCs feel that intensely. America's approval is VN's key to the modern world and their security against China.The bosses probably understand that some political democracy is inevitible and necessary but they are quite at a loss as to how to design( and this sort cannot imagine not "designing" it) it withour losing their own positions. It is contradictory. I hope what what is happening there now will play out in the manner that it did in Korea. The government is not that much different from Park Chung Hee's government. We had more immediate leverage in Korea but it is pretty strong in VN also. I hope we are making our views forcefully known to the VCs.
No deals with Charlie!
Why the sarcasm tag? It's a legitimate question. :)
ping
This actually presents a paradox in Vietnam. Since most activities are legal except political ones, the typical Vietnamese on the street is not vehemently opposed to the government.
So all it really takes is for the current government to realize that if there is democratic change, the end result will most likely be, of all things, the status quo.
Then all they will have to do is split the current government in half, with very similar platforms, and the powerful remain in power, the public is contented, the radicals of all types are still annoyed, change is incremental and pleasantly slow, and the business of Vietnam returns to being business. Everybody wins.
A similar situation existed in Saudi Arabia. They were terrified of the radical nature of democracy until they tried just a little of it at a low level. The public shocked the government by voting for what the government wanted, the status quo, in a dull election. If anything, the public were a tad more conservative than the government. The end result was that the government was thrilled, and have a new confidence that their next baby step towards democracy won't cause chaos, arson and riots in the streets.
So if Vietnam allows just an experiment, at a low level, they too might be pleasantly surprised.
In China, however, even though the concept of voting has spread everywhere, the government is so caught up in the fear that they may not be able to learn the easy way.
Very interesting comment. Thanks.
I think John F'in Kerry will be for them, before he goes against them.
No, really!
You almost sound like you have been there. If VN announced free elections for a parliament and president to take place in 6 months, yes, the current crowd would probably mostly still be in power but they would be in a new situation and would find that they would have to be responsive to the voters rather than the committees. If democracy is accompanied by extensive market rationalization and reform the corruption will subside drastically. Market reform and ending government interference in the market is the key. Divesting the banks, if it is real and not just for show, is a major first step.
I did it as a joke.
So did I. ;)
If Vietnam were so bold as to create a six month plan, I would not expect it to succeed. The revolutionary democracy you propose would most likely only take root in a country utterly devastated, like Iraq. Otherwise, the people would likely not support it.
The assumption has to be that while change is needed, there is a strong fear of chaos and violence. This is abhored by everyone, which creates a feeling of hesitation, of inertia, against change. For this reason, small steps as confidence building measures are far more likely to result in a peaceful evolution to democracy.
Openness and the absence of corruption would take many years to develop, even after democracy.
The people are ready for major changes such as happende in Korea. Those changes were really not fundamental to the society as the market culture was already flourishing in Korea as it is in VIet Nam now with its concommitant extensive freedoms though they are not explicit and still subject to the occasional crackdown.
.
Fall of Democracy =
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
And it could all happen here.
.
saddle up ! looks like the seed that was planted years ago is starting to germinate.
I wonder if they'll look to the U.S. for help ?
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