Vietnam Seeks to Further Limit Press
By An Hai - VOA
October 14, 2020
Vietnam’s
journalists and social media users face a new obstacle to independent reporting
through a government decree that imposes harsh penalties for sharing information
deemed harmful to the country. Observers
and rights activists see the decree, due to go into effect Dec. 1, as part of
Hanoi’s increasing efforts to tighten control over the news media. Since
January, Vietnam has
arrested about 20 journalists,
publishers and social media users over critical content; demanded that Facebook agree
to censor “anti-state” posts; issued a one-month publishing ban on the news
website Phu
Nu Online over its investigations into environmental damage; and,
last week, arrested prominent blogger and democracy activist Pham
Doan Trang.
Under the latest decree,
signed Oct. 7 by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, anyone sharing information
that authorities deem harmful but not serious enough for a criminal penalty
could face steeper fines and a longer, 12-month suspension. For
example, the penalty for “posting or disseminating information unsuitable for
the interests of the nation and people” carries an administrative fine of up to
200 million Vietnamese dong (U.S. $8,600). The offense of “providing untrue
information to the public that distorts and defames individuals and
organizations” carries fines of up to 40 million Vietnamese dong (U.S. $1,723). The law
previously allowed for fines of up to 100 million Vietnamese dong (US $4,300)
and suspensions of up to six months. The most severe order was a three-month ban
the Ministry of Information and Communications imposed on news outlet Tuoi Tre
Online in July 2018. The ministry accused
the outlet of disseminating false news over
its reporting on the president’s comments on a protest law.
Provincial people’s committees and local authorities, along with the Ministry of
Information and Communications and the Press Authority, will have power to issue
the penalties. Appeals
are allowed, but administrative fines in Vietnam have
to be paid within 10 days.
Independent journalist Vo Van Tao from Khanh Hoa province, who used to work for
state-run newspapers, told VOA Vietnamese the increased fines are harsh.
“Financially, for many small outlets, the fines of VND 200 million are
considered as bankruptcy,” Vo said. “Suspension of the license up to 12 months
is very severe. I feel that being suspended for three months is very severe
already.” Vo said
the decree appears part of a consistent policy by the government to “always
stifle press freedom.” “The
Vietnamese press is not the same as overseas. The country is governed by
one-party rule. It does not accept pluralism or multiparty. It does not accept
criticism,” Vo said. “They explicitly and unequivocally declare that the press
is a propaganda tool of the party and state.” Vietnam
has a poor record for free media, ranking 175 out of 180 countries, where 1 is
the most free, on an annual index compiled by media watchdog Reporters Without
Borders (RSF). RSF said
the “level of terror has risen sharply in the past two years, with many
citizen-journalists being jailed or expelled in connection with their posts."
Journalists at state-run and state-approved outlets have to register and meet
certain requirements, such as having a press card and press activity permit.
Because of that, bloggers and independent journalists like Vo often use social
media platforms to publish reporting. But
independent journalists, such as Pham Doan Trang, who was jailed earlier this
month, are at greater risk of arrest. The
journalist’s Oct. 6 arrest “is another leap forward into an outright crackdown
by the Communist Party of Vietnam,” Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s
Asia-Pacific desk, told VOA Vietnamese. “RSF is
appalled by the arrest of Pham Doan Trang, who was honored with our Press
Freedom Award for Impact exactly one year ago. Her only crime was to provide her
fellow citizens with trustful information and enable them to fully exercise
their rights,” Bastard said. Pham, an
outspoken democracy activist and author, was arrested on anti-state propaganda
charges, police and state media said. Rights
groups condemned the arrest, which took place hours after annual U.S.-Vietnam
human rights talks, and they warned that the blogger risked torture in custody. Pham, who
was arrested at an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City, is accused of “making,
storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” To An Xo, a spokesperson for the Ministry of
Public Security, said. The
blogger writes about legal issues, citizen rights and politics, and in September
he released a joint investigative report into a government attack on a village
that was the center of a land dispute. The U.S.
State Department expressed concern over Pham’s arrest. “Her
detention could impact freedom of expression in Vietnam. We urge the Vietnamese
government to ensure its actions and laws are consistent with Vietnam’s
international obligations and commitments,” the State Department said in a
statement sent to VOA via email.
Vietnam Human Rights Network |