Commentary: Big Brother concerns in Ho Chi Minh City as Vietnam launches social listening programme

CAN VIETNAM GET THE INFORMATION IT NEEDS?

Social listening is no new in Vietnam. Companies have relied on this service for years from both domestic and international IT companies.

Despite having low scores year after year, some provinces in North Vietnam have also implemented a citizens ‘ comments app to collect data from cultural listening software. However, they failed to make use of the data collected between 2016 and 2022 in Quang Ninh to improve the performance of regional government agencies for healthcare, construction management, and education.

Is this listening initiative akin to a state job that squanders public funds like Quang Ninh’s, or is it about becoming Big Brother? What is clear now is that Vietnam will depend mainly on international platforms like Facebook, X ( formerly known as Twitter ), Instagram, and YouTube to gather the data necessary for social hearing.

Between 2018 and 2023, most of the eight” Made in Vietnam” social media apps like as Zingme, Lotus, Hahalolo, Gapo, and Vietnamta had failed to get much users globally to succeed, except Zalo- a regional software with over 60 million users in 2023.

With over 75 million Vietnamese users in Vietnam and several millions of Vietnamese living abroad, no Vietnamese-language social media platform can rival global giants like Facebook. Even Vietnamese media made it known that there will continue to be” a market dominated by Big Tech” for a long time.

First and foremost, Vietnam’s excessive reliance on foreign social media platforms requires the government to work within the Big Tech companies ‘ data protection practices in order to carry out its intended social listening program.

Vietnam’s relationship with Big Tech companies has never been plain sailing. According to Vietnam’s cybersecurity law, Facebook and Google were required to remove any online links and video content that were deemed to be threats to national security within 24 hours.

Data released by the Ministry of Information and Communications in mid- 2022 showed that in the first six months of that year, thousands of posts were removed by Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

However, these takedowns are only a small sourdough by the global platforms to defend their business interests in Vietnam. The key question is whether Big Tech would comply with the government’s demands for access to customer data.

A government decree authorized the Ministry of Public Security, which regulates the police, to order Big Tech to” store Vietnamese users ‘ personal data in Vietnam,” with the condition that it be done “within 12 months.”

The Vietnamese press did not make any such announcements in 2023. In the upcoming years, the government will continue to fight with the Big Tech platforms over control of the internet and social media.

Continue Reading

Commentary: Conscription is pushing many in Myanmar to choose sides

NOT NEW Recruitment REQUIRED

Conscription-related weight is not fresh. The SAC director claimed that Myanmar was certainly unique and that the current course of action “allies foreign conventions,” claiming that 18 nations engaged in recruitment. The main function of conscription is to protect a nation against external threats, not to prosecute inside legal issues against one’s fellow citizens, is a glaring mistake.

He added that there was law for the 2010 Military Service Law. The laws and its current application date back to the 1959 Military Service Law promulgated by the caregiver government under then-commander public Ne Win, to which Burma’s next civil authorities ceded power lawfully from 1958 to 1960.

There are historical examples of the regulators enlisting citizens in secondary positions in the defense. This is the main cause of the worry that the 2010 Military Service Law has received.

For instance, the 1907 Village Tract Act, enacted when Burma was a British settlement, empowered the government to demand local services, such as for attendants, in law enforcement actions. This was essentially no recruitment, but the defense used the Act to press- group civilians as porters for counter- insurgency operations.

The exercise continued after Burma’s democracy in 1948. In military installations, there are documented cases of porters working as laborers or human shields. Although a 1999 order to end “exercising powers” under the 1907 Act was issued by military authorities, it was only repealed in 2012 and replaced with new regulations that sought to address global force to end forced labor and conscription practices.

Introduced before the government’s switch to a quasi- human supervision, the 2010 rules improved upon the 1959 edition by clarifying and simplifying eligibility criteria and terms of service. But, the military has some discretion in the form of some obscure clauses, including whether or not Muslim clergy are exempt from spiritual orders.

Continue Reading

Commentary: Who gains from India’s endless election?

SHEER SIZE AND DIVERSE GEOGRAPHY

India’s large size and varied landscape, ranging from Indian Ocean archipelagoes to Himalayan mountains, are daunting also. S Jaishankar, foreign minister, last year spoke of the problems of “navigating through industrial stretches, remote villages, and challenging physical landscapes”, as well as reaching senior citizens and differently empowered voters. &nbsp,

At a new press conference, the Election Commission of India said it was intent on reaching out to anyone, including 18 million first- time citizens, 197 million citizens in their 20s, and 48, 000 trans people qualified to vote. &nbsp,

In India, voting takes weeks to complete is not fresh.

The second post- independence election held between 1951 and 1952 required” often atrociously hard” challenges, with bridges built to cross rivers and marine vessels deployed&nbsp, to take political rolls to booths on small islands, according to Ramachandra Guha’s book India After Gandhi. &nbsp, The vote took a record four months. &nbsp,

After that, elections in India slowed down. In 1980, when Indira Gandhi returned to power after a three- year hiatus, voting took just four days.

More recently, however, Indian elections have been getting longer: The 2019 vote was held in seven phases and took 39 days. This year’s will take 44. &nbsp,

Continue Reading

Commentary: What China’s two sessions tells us about where Xi Jinping is headed

SECURITY TRUMPS ECONOMY

In his final statement last year, it is obvious that Mr. Xi has been placing protection and social stability preceding economic growth, stating that” stability is the prerequisite for prosperity, and security is the foundation for development.” While Mr Xi did not speak this time, the gathering signalled stability.

China changed the State Council Organic Law to mandate that the Cabinet “resolutely uphold” the Communist Party of China’s authority and “resolutely apply” the Central Committee’s choices. This change properly shifts power from the condition to the group by removing the separation of gathering and state that Deng Xiaoping implemented in 1982. &nbsp,

The legislation also requests that the State Council promote and support Mr. Xi’s social philosophy, known as the Xi Jinping Thought, to help strengthen his authority over China’s government and society.

After Washington restricted Beijing’s access to advanced silicon chips and investment in areas with military uses, economic growth is also seen through the lens of national security.

Pledges to science and technology to the tune of 370.8 billion yuan ( US$ 51.6 billion ) aim to boost domestic technology and higher- technology self- reliance, include biomanufacturing, quantum computing, electric cars and hydrogen power.

China has searched for new approaches to economic growth based on science and modern innovation under the slogan “new successful forces.” It tries to move emphasis away from the property sector and investment in infrastructure, two of the country’s traditional economic drivers.

However, the focus on” comprehensive national protection,” which involves maintaining control over technology and science and imposing restrictions on private enterprise, was ultimately stymie economic development.

Continue Reading

Commentary: Two presidents ousted in one year - what is Vietnam’s political outlook?

THE NEW Senator

The implications of Thuong’s death for Vietnam’s political potential, especially in the competition for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s alternative, hinges on who will complete Thuong’s role.

The new president may have previously served a total word as a Politburo member, according to the Party’s rules, which would include Trong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, National Assembly Chair Vuong Dinh Hue, Secretary of State Truong Thi Mai, and Minister of Public Security To Lam.

Trong, who formerly held the position of leader from 2018 to 2021, may regain it, but his health concerns could be a major barrier. Chinh and Hue are improbable to be engaged, as their present jobs hold more energy than the president. The most likely choices are To Lam and Mai, respectively.

Lam does have a powerful interest in the position at 66 because it might allow him to challenge the Party’s age restriction and get a top position in 2026.

He may have doubts about taking on this innovative position, though. His position as minister of public protection is really powerful, especially given the Party’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign. In comparison, the role of the president largely involves royal duties.

Mai is also a practical choice for the place, especially in the eyes of those vying for the title of general secretary. According to her somewhat weakened power base, it is unlikely that she will be able to use the presidency to contend for the Party’s top position in 2026.

Another way for the Party to overturn its own rules and propose a different lawmaker who has not yet served a full name as a Politburo member but who might contribute to program balance. In this situation, possible candidates for the Ho Chi Minh City Party include Nguyen Van Nen, the party’s secretary, or Phan Van Giang, the defense secretary.

The current contenders to take over Trong and their respective camps does not agree with this choice because they do not want to see the introduction of a fresh and worthwhile contender that could possibly impede their own dreams for the Party’s top position in 2026.

Continue Reading

Commentary: What to make of China not appointing new foreign minister at ‘two sessions’

LIU JIANCHAO CHANGES TO QIN GANG

Both Mr. Liu and Mr. Qin have worked for the unusual agency’s information department, which is where all spokespersons get training, and they share similar personality and experience.

In contrast to other ambassadors, foreign government spokespersons need better communication skills and language proficiency, especially with foreign journalists.

Mr. Liu, who attended Oxford University in the 1980s and spent four years in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, and the two people are somewhat fluent in English. They exhibit the calm assurance that some Chinese officials lack when confronted by local and foreign visitors.

Both are funny and funny. In a press briefing in 2008, Mr. Liu remarked,” Sometimes I need to watch out, not just for who is raising their hands, but also for who is taking off their boots,” after an Iraqi writer threw his boots at then US President George W. Bush. When Mr. Qin became China’s adviser to the US, he joked about being referred to as a wolf hero. The internet has stopped calling me that way now that I’ve returned as foreign secretary. He said next time,” I feel a little lost,” he said. &nbsp,

Mr. Liu’s hard actions led the party’s strategy in the mid-2010s – named Operation Fox Hunt – to bring back corrupt authorities from abroad, despite Mr. Qin’s speech being occasionally fierier. Mr. Liu demonstrated his bargaining prowess by exposing himself as a captives and recovering significant sums of stolen money overseas. &nbsp,

Mr. Liu gained regional management experience by working as a deputy gathering director in a rural county of Liaoning state, unlike Mr. Qin and many other job officials.

Continue Reading

Commentary: Oppenheimer is best picture at Oscars - and a lost opportunity

One chapter of the book Resisting The Nuclear: Art And Activism Across the Pacific, a 1946 film that celebrates the significance of technology in US military can, discusses how Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein recreated the Trinity check. They point out that Oppenheimer appeared stilted in the film’s clips while Einstein appeared inattentive.

The two academics were presumably uneasy with their newly responsibilities as advocates for a terrifying, terrifying systems. If Oppenheimer goes further into this personal distress, the movie keeps firmly in place the connection between the explosives ‘ creators and the damage they caused.

THE BOMBS ARE NOT DISCRIMINATE.

In the end, movies like Oppenheimer offer little, if any, fresh insight into the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks and their implications.

More than 200, 000 people died, and those killed included Koreans who had served in Japan as military soldiers or forced laborers as well as residents who had lost their lives.

Koreans make up one in every ten victims of the weapon, but the US state has not recognized them as victims of US military attacks. They continue to struggle to receive medical care for their long-term energy illness.

Additionally, according to my reserve about Asian American victims of the bombings, between 3, 000 and 4, 000 of the bombing victims were Americans of Asian descent. The majority of them were youngsters who were residing with their people or students who had attended Japanese schools before the battle because US schools had become more and more biased toward Asian American students.

These non-Japanese individuals, many of whom were born in the US, have been known to scientists and protesters since at least the 1990s. So it makes me feel strange to watch a movie that only depicts the effects of the weapons in the perspective of the US and its allies, Japan. The bombs did n’t discriminate between friends and enemies, as my work shows.

Continue Reading

Commentary: Chinese women are breaking period taboos to campaign for cheaper tampons and pads

TABOO, IGNORANCE AND AVOIDING DISCUSSION ON PERIODS

Period blood has long been falsely regarded as impure in China, with the potential to contaminate anyone who comes into contact with it.

Menstruating women were traditionally prohibited from entering temples, even today women in some places are banned from worship during their periods. To avoid the social discomfort associated with uttering the word “menstruation”, women often used euphemisms such as “the big aunt” or “that”.

From the early 2000s, Chinese feminists began to tackle shame and taboos around menstruation, spurred on by the influence of Western feminist movements. One notable example is the debut of the dance Menarche (named after the first menstrual cycle), which featured in the Chinese adaptation of The Vagina Monologues, in 2003.

A Chinese social media campaign in February 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, drew attention to the desperate need for women doctors and nurses to have access to sanitary pads and period pants. Many female medical workers were not given time to change their sanitary pads during their long working hours at hospitals, or did not have access to supplies. A public campaign for donations of sanitary towels or period pants drew support, but critics argued they were nonessential items.

Another issue is that high prices of sanitary items leave many girls unable to afford them. In August 2020, a Weibo user shared a screenshot of bulk sanitary napkins purchased online. The post prompted a wider discussion about how many girls in rural areas didn’t have access to these products, partly because of cost but also because of taboos.

According to one report, 5 per cent of girls in poorer rural areas across China did not use sanitary products, while 13 per cent felt ashamed about asking their parents for money to buy them. Many girls in rural areas were using rough paper, old towels or worn-out clothing.

Continue Reading

Commentary: A summit between Japan and North Korea? About time

BOSTON, Massachusetts: North Korea keeps on surprising. While Pyongyang is busy erasing all references to unification with South Korea, it is extending an olive branch to Japan.

It all began early in 2024 when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a rare message of sympathy for a deadly earthquake in central Japan to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida welcomed the message, saying that he felt a “strong need” for the two countries to improve their relations.

Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong responded to Kishida’s remark positively. She went as far as welcoming Kishida to visit Pyongyang as long as Japan did not lay a “stumbling block” – a subtle reference to the issue of past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. Kishida is personally supervising high-level discussions with North Korea to make a Kim-Kishida summit a reality.

North Korea’s outreach to Japan after more than four years of silence is causing much speculation about Pyongyang’s true intention and whether such a summit would materialise.

Four years ago, I wrote about the prospect of a Japan-North Korea summit between Kim and Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe on the precipice of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At that time, North Korea had already met leaders from the United States, South Korea, China, Russia, Singapore and Vietnam. It was thus natural that Abe would be next on Kim’s list.

However, two factors ended the prospect of a Japan-North Korea summit in its infancy. First, neither country was able to overcome the abduction issue. Abe previously declared the return of the remaining abductees would be the precondition for normalisation and sanctions relief per the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration.

After the failed Hanoi summit in February 2019, Abe softened the precondition in an offer of dialogue to Kim, but the North Korean leader was not interested because Kim understood that so long as the United States did not agree to sanctions relief, there was little Japan could provide North Korea.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. While North Korea had to close its borders to fight the virus, Japan had to cancel the 2020 Summer Olympics. There were no sparks like the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that could rekindle a Japan-North Korea dialogue.

Continue Reading

Commentary: Who is really in charge in Thailand?

Thaksin is still in the wilderness, though. In a media interview with him in Seoul on May 21, 2015, he is also facing two criminal charges for insulting King Bhumibol, the preceding king. Thaksin has also been accused of violating the Computer Law of 2007 for causing false information to travel on cultural media from his meeting in Seoul in addition to the lese- guess law under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, which has a jail term ranging from 3 to 15 years. A peak sentence under this law can be up to 20 years in prison.

When he met with a top attorney to discuss the case on February 19, Thaksin denied any wrongdoing. The Attorney-General may make a fresh decision regarding how to deal with the Thaksin case, which will be made on April 10.

A unique Attorney-General publicly stated his official opinion that the case may be prosecuted in soon 2015. This was in attente of Thaksin’s imprisonment, who was then exiled and residing primarily in Dubai.

Thaksin has been accused of breaking the lese-majeste laws before for the first time. Due to lack of information, many similar cases against him had all been dismissed.

In the fourth month of August, Thaksin can begin counting the days until he can legitimately regain his independence if the situation against him is dropped like it did before.

In the interim, Thaksin may be busy contacting tourists to ask for better positions in a new Cabinet portfolio. Thai officials are aware of who is actually in charge.

The Thailand Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, is led by Termsak Chalermpalanupap, a Visiting Senior Fellow and acting representative. The ISEAS- Yusof Ishak Institute’s website, Fulcrum, originally contained this remark.

Continue Reading