Vietnam Information

Vietnam

Vietnam (Vietnamese: Việt Nam), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a nation in Southeast Asia. It borders the People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southwest. To the country's east lies the South China Sea. With a population of approximately 84 million, Vietnam is one of the most densely populated nations in Southeast Asia.


Vietnam War

The communist-held North Vietnam was opposed by the United States for its proximity to the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Disagreements soon emerged over the organizing of elections and reunification, and the U.S. began increasing its contribution of military advisers even as Soviet-supplied arms and munitions strengthened communist forces.

The controversial attack on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin triggered a U.S. military assault on North Vietnamese military installations and the deployment of more than 500,000 troops into South Vietnam. U.S. forces were soon embroiled in a vicious guerrilla war with the Viet Cong, the South Vietnamese communist militia. North Vietnamese forces unsuccessfully attempted to overrun the South during the 1968 Tet Offensive and the war soon spread into neighboring Laos and Cambodia. With casualties mounting, the U.S. began transferring combat roles to the South Vietnamese military in a process known as Vietnamization. The effort had mixed results, but with US support the South Vietnamese were able to hold their own. The Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973 formally recognized the sovereignty of both sides. Under the terms of the accords all American combat troops were withdrawn by March 29, 1973. Limited fighting continued, but all major fighting ended until the North once again invaded in strength and overpowered the South on April 30, 1975. South Vietnam briefly became the Republic of South Vietnam, a puppet state under military occupation by North Vietnam, before being officially reunified with the North under Communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976. More than 30 years of war had devastated the economy, urban and rural infrastructure across the nation. Millions of people were killed, and over 58,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in the warfare. Widespread undetonated mines and bombs remain a serious problem for people in the rural areas. Between one and two million people fled the communist regime by sea, becoming infamously known as boat people.

Upon taking control, the Vietnamese communists banned other political parties, arrested suspects believed to have collaborated with the U.S. and embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. Reconstruction of the war-ravaged country was slow and serious humanitarian and economic problems confronted the communist regime. In 1978, the Vietnamese Army invaded Cambodia to remove their erstwhile allies, the Khmer Rouge from power. This action worsened relations with China, which launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam in 1979. This conflict caused Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid.

With the decline of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, Vietnam's economic woes intensified. In a historic shift in 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam implemented free-market reforms known as Đổi Mới (Renovation). With the authority of the state remaining unchallenged, private ownership of farms and companies, deregulation and foreign investment were encouraged. The economy of Vietnam has achieved rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction and housing, exports and foreign investment. Vietnam's economic development has been significantly aided by investment from the expatriate Vietnamese community living in the U.S. and European nations. Vietnam normalized relations with the U.S. in 1995, and is an important member state of the Association of South East Asian Nations. The power of the Communist Party of Vietnam over all organs of government remains firm.


Government and politics

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a single-party state. A new state constitution was approved in April 1992, replacing the 1975 version. The central role of the Communist Party was reasserted in all organs of government, politics and society. Only political organizations affiliated or endorsed by the Communist Party are permitted to contest elections. These include the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, workers and trade unionist parties. Although the state remains officially committed to socialism as its defining creed, the ideology's importance has substantially diminished since the 1990s. The President of Vietnam is the titular head of state and the nominal commander in chief of the military of Vietnam, chairing the Council on National Defense and Security. The Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government, presiding over a council of ministers composing of 3 deputy prime ministers and the heads of 26 ministries and commissions.

The National Assembly of Vietnam is the unicameral legislature of the government, composed of 498 members. It is superior to both the executive and judicial branches. All members of the council of ministers are derived from the National Assembly. The Supreme People's Court of Vietnam, which is the highest court of appeal in the nation is also answerable to the National Assembly. Beneath the Supreme People's Court stand the provincial municipal courts and the local courts. Military courts are also a powerful branch of the judiciary with special jurisdiction in matters of national security. All organs of Vietnam's government are largely controlled by the Communist Party. Most government appointees are members of the party. The General Secretary of the Communist Party is perhaps one of the most important political leaders in the nation, controlling the party's national organization, state appointments and setting policy.

The Vietnam People's Army is the official name for the three military services of Vietnam, which is organized on the lines of China's People's Liberation Army. The VPA is further subdivided into the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces (including Strategic Rear Forces and Border Defense Forces), the Vietnam People's Navy, the Vietnam People's Air Force and the coast guard. Through Vietnam's recent history, the VPA has actively been involved in Vietnam's workforce to develop the economy of Vietnam, in order to coordinate national defense and the economy. The VPA is involved in such areas as industry, agriculture, forestry, fishery and telecommunications. The total strength of the VPA is close to 500,000 soldiers. The government also organizes and maintains provincial militias and police forces. The role of the military in public life has steadily weakened since the 1980s.


Economy

The Vietnam War destroyed much of the economy of Vietnam. Apart from widespread destruction of urban and rural infrastructure, heavy bombings and mines had savaged agricultural activities. Millions of people were displaced by the conflict, and over two million people were killed. Upon taking power, the Government created a command economy in the nation. Collectivization of farms, factories and economic capital was implemented, and millions of people were put to work in government programs. For many decades, Vietnam's economy was plagued with inefficiency and corruption in state programs, poor quality and underproduction and restrictions on economic activities and trade. It also suffered from the trade embargo from the United States and most of Europe after the Vietnam War. Furthermore, the trade partners of the Communist blocs began to erode. In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress introduced significant economic reforms with market economy elements as part of a broad economic reform package called "đổi mới" (Renovation). Private ownership was encouraged in industries, commerce and agriculture. In many ways, this followed the Chinese model and achieved similar results. On one hand, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth from 1990 to 1997 and continued at around 7% from 2000 to 2002, making it the world's second-fastest growing economy. Simultaneously, foreign investment grew three-fold and domestic savings quintupled. Manufacturing, information technology and high-tech industries form a large and fast-growing part of the national economy.

Urban unemployment has been rising steadily in recent years due to high numbers of migration from the countryside to the cities, and rural unemployment, estimated to be up to 35% during non-harvest periods, is already at critical levels. Layoffs in the state sector and foreign-invested enterprises, combined with the lasting effects of a previous military demobilization, further exacerbated the unemployment situation. In May 2006, Vietnam negotiated a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. that marked the completion of the bilateral negotiations with WTO members the country needed to qualify for accession to the organization. Among other steps taken in the process of transitioning to a market economy, Vietnam in July 2006 updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with TRIPS. Vietnam's chief trading partners include Japan, Australia, ASEAN countries, the U.S. and Western European nations. Vietnam was accepted into the WTO on November 7, 2006.

Vietnam is still a relatively poor country with GDP of US$251.8 billion (est., 2004). This translates to ~US$3000 per capita. Inflation rate was estimated at 14% per year in 2004. The government has contained this figure to 9.5% in 2005, and continues its efforts to avoid double digit inflation. The spending power of the public has noticeably increased. The reason lies in the high prices for property. In the capital of Hanoi, property prices can be as high as those in Tokyo or New York City. This has amazed many people because the average income per capita of this city is around US$1,000 per annum. The booming prices have given poor land owners the opportunity to sell their homes for inflated prices. Tourism has become an increasingly important industry in Vietnam. There are over 3 to 3.5 million annual visitors. Expatriate Vietnamese are an important source of financial and capital investment.

As a result of several land reform measures, Vietnam is now the largest producer of cashew nuts with a one-third global share and second-largest rice exporter in the world. Vietnam has the highest percent of land use for permanent crops, 6.93%, of any nation in the Greater Mekong Subregion . Besides rice, key exports are coffee, tea, rubber, and fishery products. However, agriculture's share of economic output has declined, falling as a share of GDP from 42% in 1989 to 26% in 1999, as production in other sectors of the economy has risen.


Demographics

The 1999 census estimates the population of Vietnam to be 76.3 million, and recent estimates place the figure beyond 84 million. The largest of the 54 government recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam were:

1. Viet/Kinh: 65.8 million (86.21%)
2. Tay: 1.48 million (1.94%)
3. Thái: 1.33 million (1.74%)
4. Mường: 1.14 million (1.49%)
5. Khmer: 1.06 million (1.38%)
6. Hoa: 0.862 million (1.13%)
7. Nung: 0.856 million (1.12%)
8. Hmong: 0.787 million (1.03%)

Vietnamese people form the largest ethnic group, and are also called Viet or Kinh. Their population is concentrated in the alluvial deltas and coastal plains of the country. A homogenous social group, the Viets exert influence on national life through their control of political and economic affairs and their role as purveyors of the dominant culture. By contrast, the ethnic minorities, except for the Khơ-me Crôm (Khmer Krom) and the Hoa (ethnic Han Chinese), are found mostly in the highlands that cover two-thirds of the national territory. The Mường live in the mountains of north central Vietnam and speak a Mon-Khmer language closely-related to the Vietnamese language. The Tày people live primarily in the mountains and foothills of northern Vietnam. Their language is a member of the Tai languages, belonging to the Central Tai subgroup and closely related to the Zhuang language of southern China. The Khơ-me Crôm live in the fertile delta of the Mekong River in southern Vietnam and are ethnically the same as the Khmer people who make up the majority of the population of Cambodia.

The Hoa (ethnic Han Chinese) are mainly lowlanders and, more specifically, urban dwellers. They speak predominantly Cantonese (known to the Vietnamese as Quảng Đông 廣東), but there are also speakers of Hakka (Khách Gia 客家), Min Nan/Hokkien/Fujian (Mân Nam 閩南/Phúc Kiến 福建), Chaozhou (Triều Châu 潮州), etc. Until the 1979 Vietnamese census, the Hoa were the largest minority of Vietnam. Since 1975, many Hoa communities have left Vietnam, so that according to the 1999 census the Hoa were only the fifth-largest minority. Vietnam also has some Eurasians from the French colonization and Amerasian of American soldiers and personnel. Furthermore, there are also a few of those descended from Indian settlers also during the colonial era. Many biracial people face extensive discrimination in Vietnam, being often referred to as "Children of the Dust."

According to official figures, 86.2% of the population speak Vietnamese as a native language. Various other languages are spoken by the several minority groups in Vietnam. The most spoken of these languages are: Tày ( 1.5 million), Mường (1.2 million), Khmer (1.05 million), Chinese (870,000, this figure also includes speakers of all Chinese dialects), Nùng (860,000), H'Mông (790,000), and Tai Dam (700,000). The French language, a legacy of colonial rule is still spoken by some older Vietnamese as a second language but is losing its popularity. Russian — and to a much lesser extent Czech or Polish — is often known among those whose families had ties with the Soviet bloc. In recent years, Chinese, Japanese and English have become the most popular foreign languages, with English being obligatory courses in most schools.

For much of Vietnamese history, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism have strongly influenced the religious and cultural life of the people. The communist government's suppression of religious activities have affected the practice of organized religions. According to the 1999 census, 80.8% of Vietnamese subscribe to no religion. Christianity was introduced by French colonists, and to a lesser extent during the presence of American forces. There is a substantial following of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism amongst the Cao Đài, and Hoa Hao communities. The largest Protestant churches are the Evangelical Church of Vietnam and the Montagnard Evangelical Church. Membership of Sunni and Bashi Islam is usually accredited to the ethnic Cham minority, but there are also a few ethnic Vietnamese adherents of Islam in the southwest.

The Vietnamese government has had a history of violence toward local religious leaders regarding freedom of worship. It has consistently repressed religious sects that are not sanctioned by the state. These religious groups include Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, and Montagnard protestant churches such as Mennonite, according to a 2003 European Parliament resolution. Most notably, the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, 86, of the UBCV has been imprisoned for more than 25 years after he had written a letter of protest to Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.

Vietnamese government violations in 2005 include detainee interrogation, abuse, harassment, and death threats according to the Center for Religious Freedom.

However, recent improvement of liberty in religion in Vietnam has made the United State government to remove the country from the list of Country of Particular Concern .


Culture

Over thousands of years, the culture of Vietnam has been strongly influenced by neighbouring China. Due to Vietnam's long association with China, Vietnamese culture remains strongly Confucian with its emphasis on familial duty. Education is highly valued. Historically, passing the imperial Mandarin exams was the only means for Vietnamese people to socially advance themselves.

In the socialist era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and the cultural influences of socialist programs. For many decades, foreign cultural influences were shunned and emphasis placed on appreciating and sharing the culture of communist nations such as the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and others. Since the 1990s, Vietnam has seen a greater exposure to Southeast Asian, European and American culture and media.

The traditional female costume called "Áo Dài" is worn in special occasions such as weddings or Lunar New Year celebration or festivals. Áo Dài was once worn by both genders but today it is worn mainly by females.

Vietnamese cuisine uses very little oil and many vegetables. The main dishes are often based on rice, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Its characteristic flavors are sweet (sugar), spicy (serrano peppers), sour (lime), umami (fish sauce), and flavored by a variety of mint and basil.

Vietnamese music is slightly different according to three regions: Bắc or North, Trung or Central, and Nam or South. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest and is traditionally more formal. Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of Champa culture with its melancholic melodies. Southern music exudes a lively laissez-faire attitude.

Football is the most popular sport in Vietnam. Sports and games such as badminton, tennis, ping pong and chess are also popular with large segments of the population. Baseball, introduced during American presence in Vietnam, has also gained some popularity. The (expatriate Vietnamese) community forms a prominent part of Vietnamese cultural life, introducing Western sports, films, music and other cultural activities in the nation.

Vietnam is home to a small film industry, but the works from its counterparts in Hong Kong, France, the U.S. enjoy greater popularity and circulation.


Language

In its early history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 13th century, the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters called Chữ nôm. The celebrated epic Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều or The Tale of Kieu) by Nguyễn Du was written in Chữ nôm. During the French colonial period, Quốc ngữ, the romanised Vietnamese alphabet representation of spoken Vietnamese which was a collective fruit of several Portuguese missionaries, became popular and brought literacy to the masses.


Media

The media of Vietnam is tightly regulated by the government, which views the media as "the voice of the party and of the masses" and sees its main function as being "to propagate the party's lines and policies". The official media is a tool for government information and propaganda. Though market competition has caused the Vietnamese media to embrace popular culture, newspapers, radio and television are still compelled to reflect on the fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism and the ideals of Ho Chi Minh. The Voice of Vietnam is the official state-run radio broadcasting services that cover the nation. Vietnam Television is the sole state-run television broadcasting company. As Vietnam moved toward a free-market economy with its doi moi measures, the government has relied on the print media to keep the public informed about its policies. The measure has had the effect of almost doubling the numbers of newspapers and magazines since 1996. The first Vietnamese-language newspaper was the French-sponsored Gia Định Báo, established in Saigon in 1869. In the years that followed, both the nationalistic and the colonial sides relied on newspapers as a propaganda tool. During the final period of French colonialism many reporters were arrested and imprisoned and several newspaper offices closed by the authorities. For Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary side, Vietnamese journalists covered the First Indochina War. After the war, presses were set up in Hanoi and the basis for the country's newspaper industry as it exists today was formed, with the main Communist Party organ, Nhan Dan (The People), established in 1951.

Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors. Domestically, all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber optic cable or microwave radio relay networks. Main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly. As of 2004, there were 10,124,900 main lines in use, and 4.96 million mobile phones in use. The international country code is 84. Two satellite earth stations are in use: Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region). Mobile phone numbers in Vietnam are shared by many mobile operators, including MobiFone, VinaPhone, Viettel, S-Fone, E-mobile. Since 1997 Vietnam has been connected by two gateways: one in Hanoi which connects with Hong Kong and Australia, and the other in Ho Chi Minh City, which connects with the United States by Sprint. Internet usage remains low in comparison with that of other Asian nations, yet connectivity has increased rapidly over the past few years. There are five ISPs operating: Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC), Corporation for Finance and Promoting Technology (FPT), Netnam Company, Saigon Post and Telecommunications Services Corporation (Saigon Postel Corporation, SPT) and Viettel Company.