As Vietnam’s media all follow the Communist Party’s orders, the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, who are being subjected to ever-harsher harsh forms of persecution, including plainclothes police violence. To justify jailing them, the Party resorts to the criminal code, especially three articles under which “activities aimed at overthrowing the government,” “anti-state propaganda” and “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state” are punishable by long prison terms. The level of terror has increased significantly since the Party leadership was taken over by hardliners headed by Nguyen Phu Trong, whose control was confirmed by the five-yearly congress in January 2021. Several members of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) were arrested in 2020 and three were given sentences ranging from 11 to 15 years in prison. Pham Doan Trang, a woman journalist who had been awarded the RSF Press Freedom Prize for Impact in 2019, was also arrested. In all, more than 30 journalists and bloggers are now held in Vietnam’s jails, where mistreatment is common. Meanwhile, as Vietnam’s citizens become increasingly engaged online, the authorities have been refining their digital repressive methods, with the army creating a 10,000-strong military cyber-warfare department called “Force 47,” which is tasked with defending the Party and targeting dissident bloggers. Under a cyber-crime law that took effect in 2019, foreign online platforms are required to store their Vietnamese user data on servers in Vietnam and surrender it to the authorities when required.
在如何才能将资源配置得有利于可持续的良好发展方面,欧洲在2008年的金融危机之后,出现了一些创新的思路,企望找到新的发展道路。其中有些思路极具震撼性、颠覆性,英国可持续发展委员会发表的一个报告,就是一个典型。 这个报告的题目是«无增长的繁荣»(Prosperity without Growth),提出了颠覆“GDP是获得繁荣的必要手段”的观念。
越南这个国家依然是个贫穷的国家,2019年人均GDP虽然比15年前翻了好几倍,但是依然位于世界末流。很多人相信媒体铺天盖地的报道,很快有种错觉,越南经济腾飞了,越南人站起来了!但是很多人往往忽略了一个更重要的牌,人均GDP全世界排名。我按照购买力评价统计,PPP(purchase power parity)。 2004年5月,男人人均GDP排名是全世界113位,15年后,2019年越南的排名在122位,也就是说,数年里,尽管越南看起来经济不断增长,但是因为通货膨胀,购买力不断下降,排名反而倒退了。