Last month, nationwide protests laced with anti-Chinese sentiment erupted in Vietnam in response to the government’s plans to offer long-term foreign leases in three special economic zones. More than 100 people were arrested in the demonstrations, which once again exposed a fundamental challenge for the Communist Party of Vietnam in managing public opinion over its relationship with China. This is hardly a new issue for Vietnam. Its giant northern neighbor dominated it for nearly a millennium of imperial Chinese rule, and they have fought multiple wars in more recent centuries. Given that long, contested history, along with its proximity to [...]
On May 12, East Timor voted in early parliamentary elections, after last year’s indecisive elections produced a minority government and political paralysis. Following a campaign that was tarnished by some incidents of political violence, the Change for Progress, or AMP, coalition of opposition parties won 34 of 65 seats. A court challenge by the defeated Fretilin party over alleged irregularities was rejected by an appeals court last week, opening the way for the AMP to form a government. In an email interview, Guteriano Neves, a policy analyst based in East Timor’s capital, Dili, discusses the election results, the AMP’s policy [...]
In early April 2016, fishermen in Vietnam began noticing something alarming: Dead fish were washing up on the shores of several provinces. Days turned into weeks, and the dead tuna and mackerel kept coming, joined by clams and even one whale. It turned out to be the largest environmental disaster in Vietnam’s history. Fishermen lost their livelihoods, and some people fell ill after eating fish that had apparently been poisoned. But at first the government kept quiet about the cause of the mass fish kill. Authorities limited coverage of it on state media and arrested hundreds of people who participated [...]
