Michael Sieburg

There is a fascinating case unfolding in Vietnam right now. Two journalists from Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre have been arrested for their reporting on a corruption case in 2005 and 2006. Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre are considered to be two of the more progressive newspapers in Vietnam, pushing the bounds of acceptable discourse and pursuing investigative stories, especially where corruption is concerned. The usual caveats apply to the papers of course. They do not question the ultimate legitimacy of the state but they are not a reliable mouthpiece either.

This is an interesting story with potentially great ramifications for two reasons.

One, corruption is perceived as a very serious problem by a large swath of the population. The state understands this and has, in many cases, seriously attempted to tackle at least some of the worst and most obvious offenders. The party knows it cannot maintain legitimacy if corruption is too rampant. If the state is seen cracking down on two journalists who uncovered corruption at high levels, they are going to risk alienating significant portions of the population, especially among those who believe the journalists were doing their patriotic duty. Think about it. State declares corruption a “social evil”. Press aggressively investigates corruption. State (who authorized these arrests?) cracks down on journalists. Confused? So are the journalists.

Two, this could be a watershed event for the media in Vietnam because they are fighting back. Thanh Nien has published a strong editorial against the arrests. I’ve only read the English version but I printed out the Vietnamese and will try to go through it with some of my more fluent friends. I am curious to see if and how the story differs in Vietnamese. Vietnam Net Bridge, a state-owned online publication, has interviews with several journalists about the case. They almost unanimously express confusion and astonishment over the arrests.

I am going to follow this story, and I know I’m not alone. I chatted with a friend in Vietnam today who said the story is “the talk of the town.”

Update: Longtime Vietnam-based journalist, Ben Stocking, has more.