Vietnamese bloggers and activists posted a statement on Facebook Sept. 2 pushing for the right to know.
“Freedom of expression is closely linked to the right to access information,” the bloggers wrote. They said “every person has the right to receive information from the government such as national policies, activities by government offices and/or the ruling party in all areas: education, environment, health, social security, … or national sovereignty.”
Specific questions concerning relations between the governments of Vietnam and China were raised. The bloggers asked to see the contents of the 1990 agreement made between Vietnam and China in Chengdu when the two communist countries re-established normal relations.
According to Vietnam Right Now, the question was repeated on numerous Facebook pages including of prominent bloggers such as Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh (Nguy?n Ng?c Nh? Qu?nh, popularly known as blogger M? N?m or Mother Mushroom), Nguyen Tien Trung (Nguy?n Ti?n Trung), and Rev. Phan Van Loi (Phan V?n L?i).
Other questions were raised as well, Vietnam Right Now said. “I want to know whose pockets the enormous profits from land grabs go to,” asked Trinh Ba Phuong (Tr?nh Bá Ph??ng), whose parents are being prosecuted in the Duong Noi land protest. He continued, “I want to know how many farmers will die of hunger after losing their means of production.”
Filed under: What's New