YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Trashy fiction is an increasingly popular guilty pleasure, making one writer’s trash a corporation’s treasure. Racy Vietnamese novel Soi xich (The Chain) was sold on the Apple App Store without author and actress-singer Le Kieu Nhu’s permission, violating the copyright laws protecting the work. Although the…
Full Article VIETNAM: 50 Shades of Chains and Apple LawsuitsCategory: Vietnam
VIETNAM: Officially Banned, Unofficially a Smash Hit
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – It’s been banned, but can you really keep it under wraps if it’s already been leaked onto the web? Earlier this summer, the National Cinema Department (NCD) instrumented a hasty campaign to ban Bui Doi Cho Lon (Life in Chinatown) directed by Vietnamese-American Charlie Nguyen, but…
Full Article VIETNAM: Officially Banned, Unofficially a Smash HitVIETNAM: Free Wi-Fi, but a Wired Outcome
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Today, life and the Internet are synonymous, so free Wi-Fi is to be expected, but what’s the benefit if citizens aren’t the intended users? Residents and tourists in Hue City, Vietnam’s former Royal Capital, are scheduled to receive free Wi-Fi in major public areas such as…
Full Article VIETNAM: Free Wi-Fi, but a Wired OutcomeVIETNAM: A Win for LGBT, but a Loss for Activism
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Vietnam’s LGBT community got a morale boost on International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia May 17, but the big picture of social freedoms in the country is uneven. Viet Nam News reported that the United Nations praised the country for cutting anti-gay discrimination through local media’s spread…
Full Article VIETNAM: A Win for LGBT, but a Loss for ActivismVIETNAM: Idol Culture Threatened by K-Pop Sensations
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – The Vietnamese Idol culture might have some competition from some neighbors whose intentions might be more hostile than sensational. Last month, Vietnam Net Bridge covered a story on “Idol culture” in Vietnam where it was found that fan clubs obsessively love their respective idols like…
Full Article VIETNAM: Idol Culture Threatened by K-Pop SensationsVIETNAM: Going to the Birds?
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Vietnam is counting its chickens. In response to 11 deaths in China from a new strain of bird flu, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health is gearing up to fight the disease, even though there are no reported in-country infections yet. As reported by Vietnam News and Voice…
Full Article VIETNAM: Going to the Birds?VIETNAM: American Reporting Trivial to Vietnamese Readers
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – The United States prides itself on being “number one” in most areas, but it seems that social culture is its main point of interest to outsiders nowadays. A quick search on the Vietnamese language version of ThanhNien News Network reveals that American social reporting seems to…
Full Article VIETNAM: American Reporting Trivial to Vietnamese ReadersVIETNAM: Beijing Ultra-Nationalist Acts Like a Bow-Wow
Maritime disputes are heating up between China, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, all because of a sign. In February, an international outrage surged when a Beijing restaurant manager refused to apologize after removing a racist sign that excludes citizens of states in maritime disputes with China, and dogs. The sign…
Full Article VIETNAM: Beijing Ultra-Nationalist Acts Like a Bow-WowVIETNAM: The Overseas Slander Musical
Who knew that Do-Re-Mi could spell Do-Re-Banned? Two Vietnamese singers in the US have been banned from performing in Vietnam, accused of opposing the mother country with slanderous lyrics. Thanh Tuyen and Tuan Vu, along with a handful of others, were charged with slander for their performances on the latest…
Full Article VIETNAM: The Overseas Slander MusicalVIETNAM: If You’re Gonna Blog, Blog Something Nice, Ok?
Sometimes in Vietnam it pays to keep your mouth (or blog) shut. Last month, a Vietnamese court sentenced three bloggers to between 4 and 12 years in prison for allegedly troubling citizens and trying to overthrow the Communist government. You’d think with debt scandals, a slowing economy and inflation expected…
Full Article VIETNAM: If You’re Gonna Blog, Blog Something Nice, Ok?VIETNAM: Kissing for Charity Was Almost the Kiss of Death
Raising money for charity is a Samaritan thing to do, but male pop singer Dam Vinh Hung may have gone too far in his pursuit for monetary justice. Recently, Hung kissed two monks on the lips and hands at a charity auction in Ho Chi Minh City. In order to…
Full Article VIETNAM: Kissing for Charity Was Almost the Kiss of DeathINDIA: China’s Passport to Trouble
China is at it again! Existing territorial conflict between New Delhi and Beijing over Arunchal Pradesh is no concern of the past. The controversial issue has been revived as China recently took matters into its own hands, launching new e-passports in which it showed the regions of Arunachal Pradesh and…
Full Article INDIA: China’s Passport to TroubleVIETNAM: Welcome Back, But What Now?
On the night of November 6th, 2012, the cheers of O-ba-ma echoed through the air in the United States. Although bittersweet to supporters of the Republican Party, reelected President Barack Obama is perceived positively by the Vietnamese community. President Obama is in the spotlight as he is expected to focus…
Full Article VIETNAM: Welcome Back, But What Now?VIETNAM: Opening the Gates to the Internet
The Internet is an apparatus of information, entertainment and communication- but is it utilized as it should be? We Are Social, a global independent social media agency, reports that Vietnam’s social, digital and mobile opportunities are evolving as the country reaches about 31 million Internet users. Although this is an…
Full Article VIETNAM: Opening the Gates to the InternetVIETNAM: Mounting Demand for Freedom For Activist Blogger Ho Thi Bich Khuong
On May 30, 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) joined hands with The Global Network For Freedom Expression (IFEX) to publicly voice concern regarding the conviction of , condemning the actions of the Vietnamese government. Khuong was convicted on December 29, 2011 for violating article 88 of the penal code forbidding any…
Full Article VIETNAM: Mounting Demand for Freedom For Activist Blogger Ho Thi Bich KhuongVIETNAM: A Rather Brutal Way to Create Real Estate Vacancy
On April 24, 2012, the Vietnamese Communist Government organized a force of more than 3,000 local, civilian, and riot police alongside a multitude of government officials. The purpose: to execute a mass land eviction. The area under siege was located across three small towns: Cuu Cao, Phung Cong and Xuan…
Full Article VIETNAM: A Rather Brutal Way to Create Real Estate Vacancy