HO CHI MINH CITY, Apr 27 (IPS) - ''Nothing new as usual,'' said Nguyen Van Minh as he disgustedly flung down his copy of the ‘Tuoi Tre' newspaper which carried the final results of the 10th congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) this week.
Like many others, the 29-year-old software engineer had pinned much hope on the congress giving the CPV, as well as Vietnam, a chance to rejuvenate by tackling corruption in high places.

The disgust was all the more because the respected politburo member, Phan Dien, had solemnly promised that the congress would be of ''real substance'' and would result in major reforms.

But the conservative way in which the congress was conducted -- voting by a show of hands for a list of pre-selected candidates -- ensured that the 10th congress was just as formal as the previous ones and gave no chance for the reformists.

Minh had hoped that the congress would find a way of putting in place efficient policies to combat rampant corruption that Dien had described at a press conference in Hanoi, held before the event, as "a threat to the entire political system".

Vietnam, which ranks among the poorest and most underdeveloped, has been rocked by a series of corruption scandals involving high-ranking communist officials of leading sectors like petroleum, post and telecommunications, agriculture and commerce.

Delegate after delegate emphasised the urgent need to combat corruption; many even urged the CPV to take "strong measures" to stop it.

"They all repeated that the political system was under threat; but no one dared to ask for a thorough dissection so as to see what makes the system so vulnerable," the young white-collar worker said.

"All they found necessary to include in their final resolutions is that the party would take strong measures and condemn cadres who abuse power for personal benefits and ask them to declare their properties, carry out self-criticism and criticism,'' Minh said. ‘' The same refrain, as usual.''

The few and small adjustments made to the post-congress political line -- state-run sector has no longer key role and party members are allowed to do business -- do not meet public expectations.

In their "contribution to the CPV's draft political report" many people had expressed their hope to see democracy introduced, so that it could spread into the whole society. They considered democracy a prerequisite for anti-corruption efforts.

Everybody knew what the real problem was -- the party considers itself above the state and was unwilling to change that status.

"There should be a law for the party," said Nguyen Van Tran, former secretary of the CPV central committee (CC). ‘'The party is infringing on the (power of the) state. That is the very error of the present political system.''

A case in point, said Tran, was that of the tainted transport minister Dao Dinh Binh refusing to submit to the National Assembly, saying he was a member of the CC and would be responsible only to that body. Binh has come under pressure to take responsibility in a corruption case involving top ranking transport officials.

Early this year, Bui Tien Dung, the director of the Project Management Unit 18 (PMU 18) under the transport ministry, was caught diverting two million US dollars meant for infrastructure projects to placing bets on English and Spanish premier league football matches.

Digging into projects concerning highways, bridges and other infrastructure by PMU 18, police unearthed evidence to show that Dung and his accomplices had skimmed off public funds, taken kickbacks from lucrative state contracts and used official cars as gifts for business contacts.

The scandal forced minister Binh to resign. His deputy Nguyen Viet Tien, was arrested. Both saw their names removed from the list of candidates for the coming CC.

Writing in the Tuoi Tre, leading economist Le Dang Doanh said: "The PMU 18 scandal raises many serious questions about the political system and the way it works."

Before the congress, some veteran communist leaders including Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, Gen. Chu Huy Man, and former CPV general secretary Le Kha Phieu petitioned the police demanding police full investigation of the PMU 18 case even if it led to the highest levels.

But congress delegates did not take a serious enough view of the scandal, except to vaguely promise to ‘'draw lessons" from it.

"They all took a strange air of impassivity," remarked Le Hung Anh, a veteran of the anti-colonial war.

Anh said people like him who had hoped that the CPV would become more determined to fight corruption were very disappointed.

"Nothing has been done. The case has been silenced. No delegate dares to question the responsibility of top officials; and how these (corrupted) officials manage to be nominated as candidates for the congress," said Nguyen Dang Dung, 72, a veteran communist, now retired and living in HCMC. "Delegates concurred that corruption should be fought, but could not say how.''

A city lawyer who spoke to IPS on condition of anonymity said: "The biggest lesson that the 10th Congress should draw is that corruption, waste and wrongdoing will grow as long as there is no transparency regulated by a democratic legislature."

But the word democracy used by the lawyer is different from the notion of "centralised democracy" followed by the CPV.

Commerce minister Truong Dinh Tuyen (who retired after the congress) has already pointed out its ambiguous meaning, saying there is an implicit contradiction between the two concepts -- centralisation and democracy.

Deputy chief of the central inspectorate Vu Quoc Hung, identified five ways of using money to buy influence within the party. Cadres, he said, could pay to obtain more power, to land a higher post, obtain a diploma (needed for a higher post), evade a law suit or dilute a verdict.

‘The party should wipe out all these forms of corruption if it wants to maintain credibility," he said.

An official at the ministry of planning and investment confessed to local reporters that the PMU 18 case would have an "unprecedented and terrible impact" on relations between Vietnam and the donors.

The World Bank (WB) and Japan, the two donors that have some of their development aid funding infrastructure projects managed by the PMU 18, have already expressed their concern about ‘good governance in Vietnam.

All donors said they wanted to see Vietnam more resolute in fighting corruption, thus preventing aid money being siphoned away by corrupt officials.

In a bid to pacify them, the ministry has hurriedly drafted regulation to restructure project management units to control the billions of dollars of aid that floods into the country each year more efficiently.

But most people regard such efforts as ‘eyewash' given that the congress let slip an opportunity that might have ensured that corruption was firmly and effectively rooted out. (FIN/2006)

I hope the next generation of Vietnamese will know what needed to be done to continue to 8-10% growth.

There's not only growth in life. Do you know who really benefit from growth and from its discontent ?

It's impossible to even reach higher middle developed nations than fully developed nation by 2025 with 8% of growth.

Has anybody read or saw Orwell's Animal Farm. The communists swear of bringing equality and equity during their struggle but once they've won, they're worse than the capitalist pigs when it comes to exploiting their own people and country. Such is life.

"All animal are equal, but some are more equal than other." --George Orwel, Animal Farm

Well in this case the communist pigs believe they are more equal than the people who put them into power, hence believes it is God's given rights to commit atrocious crimes of corruption and violation of human rights against their own people. Sad isn't it?

yeah ...... BUT there is HOPE

i read an article that mention that Vietnam have more than 3 million national soaking up world-class know-how/knowlege. When..... the young communist leaders/reformist are willing to change, as we seen in Russia and our people are willing to come home then Vietnam would be in a great shape. Human resources is the most important factor in economic growth and we have more than 2 million with world class education. Beside that Vietnam have the natural resources the world would envy... for examples, Mekong delta and Red delta, cam ranh bay, oil etc....

HOPE... the reformist win just as in Russia.

Look at the pathetic state of Russia now. Compare it to China, i even like China more, sorry.

By the way, there weren't any "outcomes" after the Xth congress.



So was the Philippines

Russia is doing great the only reason China had a bigger economy is of it population.
Russia's PPP is still 2k more than China.
Look at Poland also.

Unlike these other countries Vietnam will had much resources waiting at the door.


Just like when Israel become a nation.

Animal Farm is considered subversive by the commie government. Overall, everything that criticizes the party, should it be wrong or right, is subverisve because the leadership of the VC is unquestionable (because the GOD HCM awarded it to the VCP)

About the so called world class education, I wouldn't be optimistic, I'm realistic : if we were so educated, we wouldn't be so underdevelopped, and educated people wouldn't let any idiots rule them for more than half a century!
In Vietnam, the reliable roadworks are built by the foreigners, home builts bridges and roads are dangerous, so VN civl engineering sucks. In Saigon and Hanoi, homemade buses usually breaks-down, homemade vessels sink just after the floating trial: mechanical engineering sucks. VN laws don't protect citizens enough neither can guarantee a correct level of equity: VN laws suck. VN agriculture is less prodctive and of poor quality: VN agriculture sucks. VN cannot produce generic pharmaceutical in spite of blatant needs: VN pharmacy sucks. VN medical services suck so much than even the most bloody stubborn communists go abroad for mediacl cares...At the moment, VN is only a big assembling workshop were chip arms are employed to put together components made abroad. I wonder how the Intel factory in VN will run, automatised processes controlled by a handful of americans expatriates ? While VNmese personnel will be employed as packers, as maintenance staff to keep the floors and walls clean ? Manipulating highly hazardous chemical run-offs in semiconductors industry ? Environmental protection and public health protection laws in VN are very lax compared to the american ones.

China will catch up with Russia's PPP when your first children reached five??? unless you intend to not have one

Yeah, killing Vietnamese students is a great feeling for Russia Their society is messed up because they dont even take serious step to tackle that rising right wing faction.

Resources did little in helping a country to become developed. The irony is that most developed countries do not have much resource at all...-------->refer to revolution theory.

cái đám chống cộng chỉ là một cái đám vô dụng bất tài ăn tục bốc phét. Lang thang 30 năm ở hải ngoại không bị ai cấm vận mà có sản xuất được cái đéo gì đâu. Muốn tìm một chai nước mắm với nhản hiệu "Làm ở Bolsa", thủ đô của cái đám bốc phét tụi mày, mà cũng đéo có Tụi mày có thằng nào đã sản xuất được tàu xuyên đại dương để xuất cảng hàng loạt bán ra nước ngoài như thằng CS chưa. Tụi mày bốc phét cho nhiều mà tao chưa thấy cái đám vô dụng tụi mày sản xuất được chiến thuyền, máy bay chiến đấu, đại pháo, hỏa tiển, xe tăng để bán cho ai cả hoặc dạy cho thằng CS được cái gì cả

Còn thằng VC nó đang sản xuất tàu xuất cảng, súng đạn, đại pháo, và đã bước tới sản xuất các máy móc công nghệ hạng nặng rồi đấy. Cái đám chống cộng tụi mày chỉ có cái tài bốc phét và đứng trước phố Tàu PLT để biểu tình chửi bới chứ ngoài ra đã sản xuất được cái đéo gị Tụi mày bớt ngu bớt bốc phét tí đi

There are more kind of resource than just natural resource. Japan and Korea have the best human resource in the world. They do no have that much natural resource, BOTH country would not able to operate if no one sell energy to them. Almost 100% dependent on other nation energy.

but I don't remember though, if the population of china, which is several over both russia and poland together, with the Purchasing Power Parity.

Like when Israel became a nation, but then Israel didn't have much natural resources and their economy was boosted by Western allies.

Nowadays, natural resource is mostly useful when a nation starts to industrialise because they need cash to develop industry and service sectors. Once a country is developed, natural resource means little. Most developed economy gets money from the service sector (agriculture ~ few %, industry ~ little more). Service sector in turns used alot of human resources [e.g. banking & finance] and drive other sectors to develop. When they have the money they can always import things they want from poorer countries.


---wrong, check statistics again. they can build nuclear enrichment facilities if they like. They have much much more eletricity than we have, and they are much more capable of producing more.






You are too persimistic; unless you find pleasure in critising Vietnamese economy, then help it in better mean rather than finding idiocratic point to criticise.

A developed country does not appear out of the blue. It gets better with time. Hint for you to look at [the composition of agriculture/industry/service sectors in Vietnamese economy over the last 20 years, you will be suprised how quick vietnam has changed]

Still not comparable to asian countries that had their miracle growth.

It seems to me that no matter how good the fact might be, you always find a way to criticize it.

It is because I'm not easy to be content. A growth of 8% a year will bring Vietnam into a lesser economy compareable to Thailand now in 2020. Vietnamese people like to boast how's well our economy is but it's much less compare to the growth that Malaysia and Thailand experienced, and still these two countries are nowhere in almost developed state yet.

Japan , south Korea, and Taiwan didn't invent the integrated circuits, the microprocesors, the liquid crystal dispaly, the mobile phone..;however, they are now among the most advanced in these field because they managed to integrate and assimilate foreign technologies, foreign past failures, they wisely recognised their shortcomings and widely opened their economy to foreign educated people and ideas, and they worked hard to catch up because one can improve only if one can recognise one's weakness.

The VC claim they have the best ideology and political system , the VC publicly reject any graft and corruption of their system until the latest events. The VC don't admit foreign educated people at key role to develop VN.

Vietnam has changed quick but VN has just come out of 25 years of poverty caused by the Commies. VN could do far better if the VC didn't hold power because the VC is source of corruption: VC divert foreign help for development, VC misuse national natural resources. No one can quote any original and inventive policy made by the VC to favourise development. But in ordinary life, if you're disstaisfied with a tool, you would dump it and ask for a better one.

A growth of 8% is not good enough in my opinion. It should be >9%.

Thailand during their fast developing years, it grew 10%+ for a number of years. But their economy structure is not good. They are unable to export any major things industrial [now there seems to be car parts or something like that]. In the past, their major cash inflow is from tourism, fake flowers and craft business, & agricultural exports.

However, for Vietnam, we are already a dominant agricultural-products-exporting country. Correct here if im wrong, Vietnam=number 1 pepper exporting country, near number 1 cashew exporting country, number 2 rice exporting country, no1 or 2 coffee exporting country, among leaders growing exporting prawns, fish, etc. We are also able to compete in exporting shoes, clothes, bicycles parts, industrial parts, mopeds, etc...
I read somewhere not long ago that the percentage of industrial-related export items is growing quick in absolute terms, something like 70% already, something that thailand can only dream of when they developed years ago. The processing and packaging improved and many improvements actually created by our scientists and engineers [the direction is of course learning from overseas]

The next step for Vietnamese to do is to concetrate on an high cash yield area because we dont have enough money to invest in all area. I guess we are concentrating on software and bio-tech. We can basically invest overseas in countries like Laos, Cambodia and Middle Eastern, and African countries to get cash to develop other areas that require more money.

Japan industrialised in the 1800s, they already know what to do. When they started to industrialise in the 1800s, their country was no better than Vietnam now, even worse [search google for examples, you will find plenty].

South Korea and Taiwan are assisted by the USA entirely with their structure of economic development.


i never heard of such a thing. I actually heard they recognised corruption and debated widely about political system even when Vietnam just opened to the world.

It is a substantial role, not a key role. Even "substantial" is quite a high word to describe the role played by foreign educated people. Small business enterprise [who provide jobs and incentives for people] and Foreign Direct Investment is the driver of Vietnamese economy. Pressured from international communities is where the foreign educated people did play their role.

Even the word "Commies" shows certain level of ignorance. Poverty has always existed in North and South Vietnam, no matter when.

Corruption exist everywhere from Indonesia, Thailand, Korea to Japan and to the USA. It is a good and clear governance system that deters these things from happening.

, Oil and coal for export is misuse??? Cause the technology is not there, what else can you do??? The things i am critical of the how the government not punish heavily enough those who destroy the ecology of Vietnam.

Maybe because you dont care enough to know? When anything associated with the government appear, you dismiss it without even learning about it.

Yes, if you have enough money.

Your analysis seem to show high level of ignorance. It really dissapoints me. I am not a person who tries to protect an undesirable government. I think that i look at things critically. But i still find what you wrote highly biased.

VIETNAM- NO 1 IN THE WORD IN EXPORTING PEPPER
THE PEPPER INDUSTRY IN VIETNAM

In 2003, Vietnam has become the world’s largest producer and exporter of pepper. Although pepper has been grown in Vietnam for over 150 years, it is only from 1992/93 that it has played a significant role in the international market as producer and exporter. The unprecedented boom in prices during 1998, when the FOB price of black pepper exceeded US$4.00 per kg., motivated farmers in Vietnam to pay more attention to pepper cultivation. The area under pepper increased from 12,800 hectares in 1997 to 52,000 hectares in the five years that followed and production from 22,000 tonnes to 88,000 tonnes, an increase of almost 300%. This dramatic increase has not only made Vietnam a major player in the pepper industry but has also impacted on world pepper supply and consequently, the price in international markets.

Source: http://www.ipcnet.org/newsl/features04.htm


Vietnam To Remain World's Second Largest Cashew Exporter
HANOI, April 29 Asia Pulse - Vietnam hopes to maintain its position as the world's second biggest cashew exporter after India with a bumper crop in terms of output and export value.

In January alone, the cashew industry processed 5,000 tonnes of raw nut material for export and it plans to export 85,000 tonnes for the whole year.

According to Nguyen Thai Hoc, director of a farm products processing company in Dong Nai, the southern province's crop yield averages 1,500 kg per ha, or triple that of previous years. In Binh Phuoc province, cashew productivity reached 1,400 kg per ha, up by 300 kg when compared to last year.

Cashew was considered one of Vietnam's key industrial crops and has been cultivated mainly in central and southern regions' parched soil.
-Actually i heard this year we are going to overtake the number 1 position
Source:http://au.news.yahoo.com/040429/3/p/orsq.html


VIETNAM- 2ND BIGGEST COFFEY EXPORTER
VIETNAM2003 Coffee: upmarket or uprooted

Vietnam wants to buck coffee price decline with higher quality.
Courtesy VICOFA
After years of falling prices and financial losses, Vietnam is changing its coffee production strategy. The world’s second biggest exporter will focus on improved quality and value-added while reducing overall output.

VICOFA, the Vietnam Coffee – Cocoa Association, said the land under coffee production has been reduced by 30,000 hectares to 500,000, and total output will fall to 700,000 tons in 2003, from a record high of 900,000 tons in 2001.

The problem of the world’s coffee industry is quite fundamental: too many beans for a very mature market with limited possibility to increase demand. As a consequence, world prices are at a 30-year low.
Source: http://www.internationalreports.net/asiapa...003/coffee.html


VIETNAM BECOMES THAILAND'S BIGGEST RIVAL IN RICE EXPORTS
Tuesday April 25, 2006, 4:24 pm



HANOI, April 25 Asia Pulse - Vietnam has become Thailand's biggest rival in rice exports, after Thai clients switched to importing rice from Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh City Trade and Investment Centre (HTIC) quoted the ThaiDay newspaper as saying that Thai business operators are having to closely Vietnamese monitor rice production and exports as Vietnam proves to be a strong competitor.

According to Thai exporters, Vietnam may export 38-39 million tonnes of rice this year, up by 15.2 per cent-18.2 per cent over 2005, which may threaten their business.

Prior to that, in 2005, Vietnam had a bountiful crop, with rice exports up 27.3 per cent in quantity and 47.3 per cent in value. Vietnam has become the world's second biggest rice exporter just a short period after it began exporting rice in 1998.
Source: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/060425/17/odyw.html

VIETNAM- NO 1 EXPORTER OF SHRIMP TO JAPAN
AMONG 4 BIGGEST EXPORTER OF SHRIMP TO THE US
Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vietnam+pra...=&start=10&sa=N


VIETNAM- FURNITURE NOW ALTERNATIVE TO CHINA
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (OPENPRESS) July 26, 2005 -- Vietnam has become a popular destination for US wooden furniture importers as the US furniture industry continues to modify its import patterns after the antidumping petition against Chinese wood bedroom furniture manufacturers. This is due to the fact that the furniture imports continued rise in the US while at the same time tariffs on the Chinese furniture also inflated.

This shift from China is having a massive effect on the wood furniture export industry in Vietnam. According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, last year Vietnam exported around USD 1.2 billion in wooden products, most of which was furniture, but that is expected to rise to between USD 1.4-1.6 billion during 2005. “Right now Vietnam is exporting furniture to over 120 countries worldwide,” says J.D. McClellan, managing director of Diamond Keystone Associates, a Vietnam based furniture export sourcing company, “but no market is having more of an effect on Vietnam than the United States right now, and I don’t see that changing for some time to come.”

The Vietnam Economic Times has also reported that Vietnam’s industry now boasts over 1200 furniture factories with some very serious growth, stating that the export value of the wooden furniture market for the first six months of 2005 is up 86% from the previous year, and most of this is outsourced product. But J.D. McClellan contends that if importers aren’t careful this trend can bring pitfalls as well as opportunities. “American importers should realize the vast opportunities for their businesses here, but at the same time it is extremely important to have a professional representative on the ground in Vietnam,” says McClellan, “because all kinds of things can, and do, go wrong if someone is not here to follow the production processes on behalf of the importer. This includes choosing the right factory for manufacture, to the design, to the actual manufacture, to packaging to keeping the schedule for the final export shipping.”
Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vietnam+pra...=&start=10&sa=N

Vietnam rank 2nd for Internet and mobile growth
VNECONOMY updated: 20/12/2005

Now Vietnam ranks second worldwide for growth in Internet and mobile information service development, announced COMNET Vietnam 2005 held by VNPT and IDG in Hanoi on December 13-15.
The country’s Internet and mobile information services obtained an annual growth rate of 150-200% on average in recent years.
According to experts from international telecom groups like IDG, Cisco System, Sun Microsystems, Alcatel, Samsung and Siemens, Vietnam’s telecommunications and IT sector has attracted many foreign investors. As of 2006, this industry will be open to foreign enterprise under commitments in the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Analysts have said this will be a landmark for realizing the Ministry of Post and Telematics’ goal to turn the IT-telecommunication industry into a key economic sector with an annual growth rate of 20-25% and total revenues of US$6-7bil by 2010.
COMNET Vietnam 2005 is an international conference and exhibition on telecommunication technology and network held by the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT) and the International Data Group (IDG).
Source:http://www.google.com/search?q=Vietnam+prawn+export+ranking&hl=en&lr=&start=10&sa=N

Vietnam 3rd biggest in rubber exports IN THE WORLD
12:01' 30/01/2006 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet - Vietnam exported a record 550,000 tonnes of rubber last year, earning US$787 million, according to the General Statistic Office.

The exports increased by 31.9 in value and 11.9 in volume over 2004, the office reported.

The figures also exceeded the Government’s targets on rubber exports for 2010 and maintained Vietnam as the third largest exporter on the international market. In addition, the rubber industry achieved the second largest export value after the food industry.

The Vietnam Rubber Corporation (Geruco) last year sold 316,000 tonnes, 25,000 tonnes higher than in 2004. It gained a record of VND3 trillion (US$188.6 million) in revenue, an increase of VND785.6 billion over 2004, including VND2.8 trillion from rubber products.
Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vietnam+pra...=&start=10&sa=N

FOOTWEAR
Since 1992, Vietnam's leather and footwear industry has recorded rapid growth. Currently, Vietnam is the eighth largest producer and the fourth biggest exporter of footwear in the world.
In 2002, Vietnam's footwear and leather product export value reached approximately US$ 1,828 million. Major export products include sport shoes, lady shoes, canvas shoes, slippers and sandals. The EU is expected to remain as the main market, accounting for about 80% of Vietnam' footwear and leather exports. This industry is forecasted to export US$ 2.2 billion worth of goods in 2003. more...
Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vietnam+pra...=&start=10&sa=N


TEXTILE
Viet Nam’s textile sector last week disclosed that by 2010 their target in export is to increase the previous objective from US $2 bln to US$10 billion of products annually. The revision comes shortly after the nation was ranked 16th among 153 garment exporting countries late last year

Mr. Diep Thanh Kiet, deputy chairman of the HCM City Textile, Apparel and Embroidery Association said the Government should improve Viet Nam’s investment environment to help the sector attract more foreign partners. He predicted that Viet Nam would become a World Trade Organisation member this year, meaning textile exporters would be free of production quotas in 2007. Mr. An added that comprehensive restructuring of all businesses in the sector would contribute to industry-wide growth, as evidenced by the success of his company’s own corporate restructuring efforts. With export turnover growth reaching 13 per cent last year, Vinatex ranked among the largest garment producers in the world, he said. He added that Viet Nam should also focus on promoting its trademarks. Vinatex Deputy General Director Mr. Vu Duc Giang added the group posted revenue of VND18.3 tln ($1.15 billion) last year, up 11 % from 2004. This year, the group hopes to post revenue growth of 16 %and 10 % higher profits, he added. The country’s second most important export after crude oil, textile sales hit $370 million last month alone, according to the General Statistics Office.
Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vietnam+pra...=&start=10&sa=N

TEA

Vietnam is the world’s 9th largest tea producer, accounting for 4% of the world’s production, and ranking 7th in exports with 57,000 tons of tea in the first three quarters of this year. Vietnamese tea producers mainly exported raw materials to intermediary countries at low prices due to the lack of registered trademark and competitiveness, said Nguyen Kim Phong, President of the Vietnamese Tea Association, suggests branding, trade marks and new types of Vietnamese teas will enhance their position in the global tea marketplace. Vietnamese tea products are mainly processed from domestic tea plants. Those that include 70% of Vietnamese raw materials, and meet the regulations issued on September 7, 2005 can be granted the Vietnamese tea logo. The country's tea trademark has been registered in 77 countries and territories. (October 2005)

I know it, but apparently , you haven't draw the lesson from your readings ! In the early 19th century, under the reign of emperor Meiji, the industrial development of Japan was ignited by this policy to send bright people around the world to assimilate the best then to grant the power to put in practice what they learned abroad. The VC don't do so, the idiots are idiot because they consider themselves as intelligent.



South Korean were assisted because they knew how to choose a good friend, but they knew how to help themselves instead of relying on foreign aid, and the foreign educated scholars are highly estimated unless home educated people prove to be better.
Egypt and Turkey have been receiving big bukcs from the USA but look at how far behind they are.Tthe VC chose the Soviet and China and how those friends helped Vietnam !





If I had your way of thinking, I would say that Poverty exists everywhere, even in Switzerland, so no need to fight for development....


What is a clear gov ? an unique party where most members are corrupt, unqualified and self-selected for the leading position ?




The fact that I don't have technology must not drive me to sell-off my natural resources to the first stranger at bargain price. The VC are selling-off coal mine concessions to some Chinese companies who are well known for their retarded technology that cost thousands of Chinese miner life.




Yes, because I don't believe in this government. in Switzerland and other democratic countries, corrupted gov members are dismissed, jailed and the party they belong to is likely to loose official position at the next electio !



My clear and sensible analysis are based on facts I observed directly and indirectly.


A short extract from a commie media:

Trong không khí tưng bừng sắc xuân Chào mừng kỷ niệm 76 năm ngày thành lập Đảng cộng sản Việt Nam (3/2/1930 – 3/2/2006) và 75 năm ngày thành lập Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh, đông đảo cán bộ, đảng viên các Ban, đơn vị trực thuộc Khối CQTƯ Đoàn đã có mặt tại Cơ quan Trung ương Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh tham dự Lễ mít tinh chào mừng ngày thành lập ĐCSVN và Lễ ra quân đầu Xuân 2006.

Tới dự và đọc diễn văn tại Lễ mít tinh, anh Đào Ngọc Dung, Bí thư Thứ nhất TƯ Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh nhấn mạnh tới vai trò lãnh đạo tài tình, sáng suốt của Đảng, cách mạng nước ta vẫn từng bước đi lên, lập nên những kỳ tích vẻ vang. Sau 20 năm thực hiện đường lối đổi mới do Đảng ta khởi xướng và lãnh đạo, đất nước ta đã và đang đẩy mạnh công nghiệp hóa, hiện đại hóa, kinh tế tăng trưởng nhanh, cơ sở vật chất kỹ thuật được tăng cường, đời sống nhân dân được cải thiện, vai trò công tác Đoàn và phong trào thanh niên, thiếu niên nhi đồng đã được Đảng và Nhà nước hết sức quan tâm. Đặc biệt, khi Luật Thanh niên được Quốc hội thông qua tạo đà quan trọng trong công tác Đoàn và phong trào thanh niên trong những năm tới...

Anh Đào Ngọc Dung đã thay mặt tập thể cán bộ, đảng viên CQTƯ Đoàn thể hiện quyết tâm hoàn thành xuất sắc nhiệm vụ công tác năm 2006 bằng những hồi trống vang dội trong những tiếng vỗ tay tưng bừng chào mừng một mùa xuân mới – mùa xuân 2006 với những thắng lợi mới.


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So there are reformist-minded people in Vietnam. If only they could oust the old guards and come to power, but to that they would have to taint themselves in the corrupt power politics of the VCP. Corruption propagates itself and even honest people who dislike it find themselves in a position to conform or get left behind.

We need people power for real changes...but Vietnameses are too afraid and too worry about making money. The people of Vietnam are still hoping for a philosopher king from the top to make things happen. If so they will have to wait decades more.

Not really, look at the Phillippines who had the most assitance from the USA out of Asian countries, but it's nowhere compare to South Korea's economy now. It is mostly credited to President PArk Chung Hee that South Korea experienced miracle growth.


There's difference between debating/talking and actually doing something


What drived economy to this day is mostly consumption, because Vietnam exports less than imports


It's as ignorant as Kinh Te Theo Xa Hoi Chu Nghia



Corruption does exist everywhere but Korea dramatically jumped ranks in the Corruption Index last year
while Vietnam remains stagnant and one of the world's most corrupted nation.

By the way, you're really ignorant about Thailand's economy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Thailand

I learnt about the 10+ % growth rate of thailand when i was in year 8.


Roughly 60% of Thailand's labour force is employed in agriculture

GDP by sector agriculture (9%), industry (44.3%), services (46.7%) (2004 est.)
The economy of Thailand is export-dependent, with exports accounting for 60% of GDP

Labour force by occupation agriculture (49%), industry (14%), services (37%) (2000 est.)
Thailand Industries: tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry, electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, world's second-largest tungsten producer, and third-largest tin producer

External debt $50.4 billion (2004 est.)

COMPARED TO THAT OF CHINA, Who has much much lower average GDP

Just under half of China's labor force is engaged in agriculture, even though only about 15.4% of the land is suitable for cultivation

GDP by sector (2005) agriculture (12.46%), industry (47.28%), services (40.26%)

Labor force by occupation (2001 est) agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28%
Main industries: iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications, electronic information.

External Debt (2005 est) $300bn (/20=$15billion for a compariable population to Thailand) compared to Foreign Reserves (31 December 2005 ) $818bn

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel


So much for the strong economy of Thailand. it has a long way to go even to catch up to China.

FOR VIETNAM STATISTICS, go here
http://www.worldbank.org.vn/data/e_indicator.htm and here http://www.vvg-vietnam.com/economics_cvr.htm#GDP Growth (%)

That shows you dont have a solid foundation in economics.

Economic growth is a complicated process. Economists do not yet fully understand since Adam Smith published "The wealth of nations" in 1776

But to simplify the nation's income, we usually use this:
Y=z * F (L, K, N)
where Y= total output of real GDP
z = current state of technology and efficiency
L= labor force
K= capital stock
N = stock of natural resource
F is a function of combination.

when divided per worker

y=z* f(k,n)

Can you see that it depends on natural resource and capital stock with the multiplier being technology
TECHNOLOGY needs INVESTMENT
PHYSICAL CAPITAL like machinery, computer, etc needs INVESTMENT
HUMAN CAPITAL needs INVESTMENT in education, health, etc

CONSUMPTION is not related anywhere.
Dont discuss if you dont know anything about economics

Some of you guys are just hard headed, not even understand how a country is supposed to develop and choose weird comparison and choose idiocratic point to criticise. That drives me crazy . Learn a bit of economics and science. It will help.

Vietnam's leaders sidestep the 'c' word
By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

HO CHI MINH CITY - Vietnam's 10th Communist Party Congress last week failed to address the recent proliferation of corruption scandals, blunting earlier hopes that the highly anticipated meeting would enact new measures aimed at promoting more transparency and accountability among its cadres.

The lack of progress on the corruption issue was particularly glaring considering that respected politburo member, Phan Dien, had earlier said at a news conference that corruption had become "a threat to the entire political system" and vowed that this year's



congress would be of "real substance" and include major reforms.
But the conservative way in which the congress was conducted, including the traditional voting by a show of hands for a list of pre-selected candidates, ensured that the 10th Congress, as with previous meetings, was merely a formality and lacked any reforms aimed at curbing official corruption.

Delegate after delegate emphasized the urgent need to combat corruption, and some even urged Communist Party leaders to take "strong measures" against the scourge. But the few minor adjustments made to the post-congress political line, including a new provision that de-emphasizes the role of the state in the economy and opened the way for party members to legally conduct business, will likely pave the way for more corruption than it curbs.

In contributions made to the Communist Party's draft political report, many delegates had expressed hope of seeing a degree of democracy introduced, which ideally would trickle down from the government into mainstream society. Many expressed opinions that democracy was a prerequisite for effective anti-corruption efforts.

But the root of the problem - that the Communist Party still considers itself above the state and is unwilling to change that status - remained unchanged.

"There should be a law for the party," said Nguyen Van Tran, former secretary of the Communist Party's influential central committee. "The party is infringing on the [power of the] state. That is the very error of the present political system."

Vietnam, one of the region's poorest and most underdeveloped countries, has recently been rocked by a series of corruption scandals involving high-ranking communist officials, including allegations of graft in the state-controlled petroleum, post and telecommunications, agriculture and commerce sectors.

Senior party leaders, however, continue to siphon state funds for personal use with impunity. For instance, Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh, who has come under pressure to take responsibility for a massive corruption scandal involving ministry officials, refused to face the National Assembly because he said he was responsible only to the Communist Party.

Although Binh was eventually forced to resign and his deputy, Nguyen Viet Tien, later arrested, the opaque political system that allowed for the abuses remains.

Earlier this year, Bui Tien Dung, the director of the Transport Ministry's Project Management Unit 18, or PMU 18, was caught diverting as much as US$2 million in state funds earmarked for infrastructure projects to bets on European football matches. Police later unearthed evidence showing that Dung and his PMU 18 colleagues had skimmed money from public funds, taken kickbacks on state contracts and given official cars as gifts to business contacts.

Leading economist Le Dang Doanh wrote in a hard-hitting recent column in the Tuoi Tre newspaper, "The PMU 18 scandal raises many serious questions about the political system and the way it works."

Some veteran communist leaders, including outspoken General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Chu Huy Man and former Communist Party general secretary Le Kha Phieu, petitioned the police, calling for a full investigation of the PMU 18 case - even if their findings led to the highest levels of government.

According to other senior Communist Party figures, the congress delegates did not take a serious enough view of the Transport Ministry scandal, vowing rather vaguely to "draw lessons" from the incident. "They all took a strange air of impassivity," remarked Le Hung Anh, a veteran of the anti-colonial war, who expressed his disappointment the congress didn't take a more explicit approach to combating corruption.

"Nothing has been done," said Nguyen Dang Dung, 72, a veteran communist, now retired and living in Ho Chi Minh City. "The case has been silenced. No delegate dares to question the responsibility of top officials and how these [corrupt] officials manage to be nominated as candidates for the congress. Delegates concurred that corruption should be fought, but could not say how."

Similar sentiments resonated among Vietnam's increasingly vocal middle class.

"Nothing new as usual," said Nguyen Van Minh, a 29-year-old software engineer, as he flung down a copy of the Tuoi Tre newspaper carrying the final results of last week's 10th Congress. "They all repeated that the political system was under threat; but no one dared to ask for a thorough dissection so as to see what makes the system so vulnerable."

A Ho Chi Minh City-based lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "The biggest lesson that the 10th Congress should have drawn is that corruption, waste and wrongdoing will grow as long as there is no transparency regulated by a democratic legislature."

The lawyer openly dismissed the Communist Party's so-called "centralized democracy" model, which famously brooks no dissent among the country's 84 million population and allows for scant discussion of political reform among its cadres.

Commerce Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, who retired after the congress, has pointed to the "centralized democracy's" ambiguous meaning, saying there is an implicit contradiction between the two concepts - centralization and democracy.

Vu Quoc Hung, deputy chief of the central inspectorate, identified five ways senior cadres used money to buy influence inside the Communist Party, including using state funds to gather more power, land a higher post and obtain an academic degree required for landing a higher post, evading law suits or influencing the judiciary.

Foreign aid donors were also watching the meeting closely for signs the Communist Party was serious about tackling corruption. The World Bank and Japan, two of Vietnam's largest donors who it is believed witnessed some of their funds earmarked for infrastructure spending pilfered by PMU18, have recently expressed concerns about the growing need for "good governance".

The Transport Ministry recently drafted regulations to restructure project management units to more efficiently manage the billions of dollars worth of aid that floods into the country each year. But because the congress failed to respond to the increasingly widespread calls for more transparency and accountability over its affairs, it's doubtful that bureaucratic reshuffling will allay their corruption concerns.

(Inter Press Service with additional reporting by Asia Times Online)

"You guys have fu-ked up! Damnit! Vo giao duc! Do ngu! Cai deo gi day!!!"