lf you didn’t already know, speaking against the government in Vietnam is against the law and could land you in jail. However, recently, the people of Hanoi, Vietnam, have protested the felling of their beloved trees without facing much consequence for their actions. Is the Vietnamese government beginning to become open to the concept of freedom of speech?
Vietnam is currently a communist-run country and is coming to their 40th anniversary of one-party control next month. Hanoi’s officials put together a plan to cut down 6,700 treas around the city, and of course the majority of the residents did not like this idea, and so a Facebook campaign began. The Facebook campaign was set up and created by a female resident of Hanoi named ‘Duong Ngoc Tra’ who said “The city usually doesn’t consult anybody on any matters, big or small”, she was shocked to find that her Facebook page had garnered over 50,000 likes.
The fight over these trees began when pictures of the first batch of around 700 fallen trees began circulating the web, sparking outrage. Many of these trees have now been replaced with new ones.
Protesting in Vietnam is very rare, as it can lead you to very long jail term. It is thought that the government did not act harshly as there was nothing political about the matter.
Pham Binh Minh, the deputy prime minister, foreign minister, and resident of Hanoi said that he loved the city’s trees and felt sympathy for those who wanted to keep the trees, understanding how the people felt.
Many people decided to attend “Sunday’s demonstration-cum-picnic” where people held flags and banners with words such as “Tree hugs Hanoi” emblazoned over them.
Throughout the event, the Vietnamese government stayed behind the scenes and decided not to get involved, at the same time ignoring any incoming phone calls or emails regarding the trees.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-31991940
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/54d07f2a-d462-11e4-8be8-00144feab7de.html#axzz3VoBBdkXg
