VZCZCXRO8811
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0090/01 0270328
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270328Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0790
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0098
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0193
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0005
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0002
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0074
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 0076
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0006
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0422
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI TW 0005
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0032
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 0040
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0064
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0001
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0049
RUEHVN/AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE 0091

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000090 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EINT PGOV SOCI VM
SUBJECT: Many Vietnamese Youth Trust Big Brother to Monitor the 
Internet 
 
REF: A: STATE 4203; B: 09 HANOI 909 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: During a wide-ranging discussion at the American 
Center in Hanoi following the airing of the Secretary's speech on 
internet freedom (Ref A) several participants parroted the Party 
line that the internet could be used to spread information that is 
harmful to Vietnamese society and should therefore be blocked. 
Others, however, offered a contrary view, complaining that there is 
no true freedom of speech in Vietnam. A similar range of views were 
expressed on the broader topic of the media, with some participants 
supporting some degree of government censorship in the name of 
social order and others voicing frustration at the lack of press 
freedom.  Most participants agreed that censorship of social 
networking and foreign news sites is wrong and expressed disbelief 
that the government would read their private e-mail correspondence. 
"The line between freedom and censorship is always moving in 
Vietnam," one participant noted. Most participants said they had 
access to high-speed internet at home and spend an average of 3-5 
hours a day online. End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On Friday January 22, approximately 40 Vietnamese young 
people (ranging between the ages 20-30) gathered at the American 
Center in Hanoi to watch clips from the Secretary's speech on 
Internet Freedom and discuss how the topic related specifically to 
Vietnam. After showing about 30 minutes of the speech, including a 
number of segments critical of Vietnam, the Embassy's Human Rights 
Officer led a discussion about the role of the internet in the 
lives of Vietnamese youth and what involvement -- if any -- the 
government should have in monitoring and censoring its content. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Expecting the audience to be reserved and hesitant to 
comment on such a sensitive topic, Poloff began with a series of 
questions relating to internet access and common web activities. 
Most of the audience said that they have high-speed ADSL 
connections in their homes. Those who don't rely on internet cafes 
and their college campuses to go online. The majority of the 
audience said they have g-mail or yahoo e-mail addresses and spend 
an average of three to five hours a day online chatting with 
friends, e-mailing, gaming, catching up on pop culture, and 
blogging. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Participants offered various opinions as to why Facebook 
remained blocked in Vietnam (Ref B). Some blamed "technical 
difficulties," while others acknowledged that the government was 
likely the source of the problem. All participants expressed 
dissatisfaction with the current situation, and noted that they use 
work-arounds to maintain their Facebook pages.  The participants 
were nearly unanimous that they would not to convert from Facebook 
to locally hosted social networking tools like zing.com; many 
laughed at the prospect. (Note: At the start of the event, there 
was a small celebration to commemorate the American Center's 
Facebook page exceeding the mark of 1,000 fans in just over a 
month's time. The speed of reaching 1,000 fans is notable given 
that the Facebook homepage has remained blocked in Vietnam 
throughout this time period. End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) There was a long pause when Poloff asked what type of 
content should be allowed on the internet. Eventually a young man 
asserted that politically sensitive content and pornography should 
be censored, arguing that it is permissible to oppose GVN policies 
but not specific policymakers. Another participant added that the 
GVN does not have hard and fast rules on internet censorship, but 
that every citizen should recognize the impact their online 
comments could have and should therefore be "constructive." 
 
HANOI 00000090  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Another young man offered a dissenting opinion, however, 
arguing that because the government controls all forms of media, 
Vietnam's citizens don't have the chance to raise their voices. "I 
am very frustrated," he continued, lamenting that "We are all 
missing out on good opportunities."  He specifically asked what the 
U.S. Embassy could do to "improve the situation." Poloff noted the 
Department organizes public discussion sessions and also works 
behind the scenes in meetings such as the annual Human Rights 
Dialogue with Vietnam to raise its concerns related to free speech. 
A third young participant countered that most Vietnamese are easy 
going and very satisfied with life as provided by the government, 
which ranks as one of the highest in the world. Vietnam's 
government, he insisted -- becoming less laid back -- does not 
limit the voice of its people; rather, some people "abuse their 
rights" and are threats to the government that the government is 
correct to suppress. Still another participant cautioned that 
"chaos" would ensue if people were allowed to openly criticize the 
government.  "Change should happen slowly," he averred, adding that 
freedom of speech should be "restricted sometimes." Another 
individual commented that the line between censorship and internet 
freedom is not fixed, insisting with disapproval that it is "OK in 
the U.S. to slander another person and post pornography on the 
internet." 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Poloff pushed the participants on this point, asking 
whether it was permissible to voice opposition to GVN economic 
policies and whether the government should be allowed to read 
personal e-mail or text messages. Most bristled at the idea of the 
Government blocking news sites and blogs that do not comment on 
political news and reading their private messages. Many expressed 
shock when Poloff said that the Government of China routinely 
blocks internet sites such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and the 
New York Times. Most participants said that Vietnam should not 
follow China's example. Poloff shared the story of leading 
dissident Dr. Pham Hong Son, who was jailed from 2002 - 2006 for 
translating and posting online a State Department pamphlet entitled 
"What is Democracy" from the Embassy's homepage. Most participants 
said they had not heard of Dr. Son, and expressed disbelief that he 
would imprisoned for such an activity. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment: The fact that such a wide-ranging discussion 
occurred, following the airing of a speech at times critical of the 
GVN's actions, is notable in itself. While participants articulated 
a variety of opinions, all said that they depend on the internet to 
remain in touch with the larger world.  While several vocal 
participants proclaimed that they had no problem with the 
government censoring political content, most expressed apprehension 
when confronted with more specific questions about the government's 
role in censoring news media and personal blogging and rejected as 
illegitimate the notion that security services could be reading 
their own e-mails.  Most participants acknowledged the importance 
of a free media in fighting corruption and environmental 
degradation. Of the quarter of the participants that offered views, 
the group appeared evenly divided between those who supported the 
Secretary's message and those that argued in defense of Vietnam's 
position. To conclude the event, PAS Officer noted that the 
attendees had just participated in the exercise of free speech and 
hoped that they would see the benefit of this type of open 
exchange. 
Michalak