In Vietnam, discontent lurks under economic success

Bloomberg

Vietnam boasts one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, optimistic citizens and a stable government. But below the surface of positive data points lies discontent that spilled over during recent protests across the country.
Hundreds of anti-riot police blanketed central Ho Chi Minh City on June 17, the nation’s thriving commercial centre, to prevent demonstrations after thousands of Vietnamese took to the streets across the nation the previous week. They were marching against proposed special economic zones with 99-year land leases they fear will lead to Chinese encroachment, as well as cybersecurity legislation they believe will curb online freedoms.
“There’s an overall frustration in society,” said Alexander Vuving, a political analyst at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. “During the 10 years since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization, they have seen progress in terms of wealth creation. At the same time, people have seen a lot of corruption scandals. And Vietnamese are very suspicious of Chinese influence.”
Vietnam’s one-party system is governed by a collective leadership involving the Communist Party general secretary and ministers. In Binh Thuan, police are prosecuting eight people on charges of causing public disorder, Vietnam News reported. The province experienced demonstrations on June 10-11, when vehicles were set ablaze, government buildings damaged and 45 police officers injured, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Citizens have benefited greatly by the communist government’s aggressive moves to open the economy up to the world. Vietnam has averaged economic growth of 6.3 percent between 2005 and 2017, multiplying its per capita income six-fold to $2,385 last year from $396 in 2000, according to data from General Statistics Office in Hanoi. The economy grew 7.38 percent in the first quarter and the World Bank revised its forecast on Vietnam’s 2018 economic growth to 6.8 percent from 6.5 percent.
The booming economy is being driven by investments from foreign companies such as Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics and Nestle SA that have made the country a manufacturing powerhouse.
Still, a level of distrust of the government exists among average citizens, whose concerns are amplified on social media.
One flashpoint is the nation’s fraught relations with its powerful neighbour, China, with which it fought a brief border war in 1979. A Pew opinion poll released last year found just 10 percent of Vietnamese view China favourably. “Anti-China sentiment is toxic in Vietnam,” said Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.
Thousands of protesters, fearing a proposed law on
special economic zones would allow Chinese to gain influence over the nation with 99-year leases, demonstrated from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on June 10.