Vietnam’s journalists suffer when they dig too deep, writes Nick Caistor

The 2005 Vietnamese code of practice for journalists stresses first and foremost that journalists should be: ‘absolutely loyal to the cause of nation building and protection of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under the leadership of the Communist Party’. It goes on to recommend that journalists should ‘lead a healthy life’ and always ‘have attachment to the people and wholeheartedly serve the people’.

As a result of these stipulations, Vietnamese newspapers and journals make depressing reading for a Westerner. The front page is almost always divided up into reports on what the Communist party chairman did, what the prime minister had to say, and what the party secretary got up to. What this entails is always good news: the opening of a new school, a highway, or other ambitious project, or a solidarity or protocol visit.

This means that bad news, especially about Vietnam and its rulers, is extremely rare inside the country. The only time this kind of article is published is when the party leaders want to get rid of someone. If they feel it is time for someone to go, they feed the editors with news of the misdemeanour that has been committed, and who they say is to blame.

So it was that in 2006, a huge scandal in the Ministry of Transport concerning among other things a bridge collapse, the use of government funds for betting on European football matches, and embezzlement of funds from Japan, the World Bank and other international sources for personal gain was suddenly splashed in several Vietnamese publications. The minister of transport Dao Dinh Binh was sacked and his deputy in charge of project management jailed.

It seems however that some journalists took this as a signal that they could follow up the story, and actually investigate what had gone on. Two journalists in particular, Nguyen Van Hai (33) and Nguyen Viet Chien (56) dug deeper. They both worked for newspapers aimed at a younger audience, and supposedly freer of party control.

In May this year, they were arrested and charged with ‘abuse of power and authority’ for their further reporting of the case. Tuoi Tre (‘Youth’, where Nguyen Van Hai worked) also claimed that since 2006, dozens of local correspondents had been taken in for questioning by the police and asked to reveal their sources of information about the scandal.

This intimidation appears to have had its results, as two former policemen were subsequently arrested together with the journalists, on charges of ‘intentionally disclosing secrets’.

When the men were brought to trial in October, Nguyen Van Hai pleaded guilty. He was given two years of ‘re-education’ but spared a jail sentence.

His colleague Nguyen Viet Chien was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for allegedly writing inaccurate stories about the corruption scandal. Presiding judge Tran Van Vy said the journalist had ‘damaged the prestige of some high-ranking officials and caused negative public opinion’.

The two policemen involved in the case met a similar fate. Dinh Van Huynh, a detective, received a one-year jail sentence, while Major General Pham Xuan Quac, now retired, was let off with an official warning.

Vietnam is undergoing a rapid economic opening to the outside world. A stock market has opened, there has been a huge influx of foreign banks, and foreign investment is actively encouraged. Many Vietnamese papers are encouraged to seek paid advertising. At the same time, the Communist party leaders appear unwilling to allow the country’s journalists to ask any questions that might lead to any real news to appear in their publications.

Nick Caistor worked with the British Council and young journalists in Vietnam from 2005 to 2008