Corruption problem worsens in Asia
According to an annual survey of by Hong-Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC) published in April this year, China and Vietnam were the most corrupt nations among the 12 Asian countries in the region.
At the top of the corruption graph was China, followed by -- in that order -- Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
It also said that all countries had laws aimed at fighting corruption, "but very few governments apply such laws as strictly and consistently as Singapore."
The report said that in many countries, corruption charges were the excuse one political group used to discredit or penalize another group.
PERC said that while in some cases there may be good legal reasons for levelling the charges, "the fact is however that it took a political decision to attack a practice that previous governments had not only condoned but encouraged."
Communist Vietnam, where there is no freedom of press nor an opposition party to provide balances and checks, is corrupt from top to bottom.
In a campaign to address the problem, Hanoi handed out harsh sentences to some middle-level officials as scapegoats while the major culprits remain untouched. Death sentences which have been used for murderers are now handed down for a number of economic offenses.
On October 8, a man was sentenced to death and six others received jail terms ranging from 42 months to life for involvement in a $6.1 million bank fraud (AFP)
300 strike to protest exploitation
Hoc Mon, southern Vietnam: 300 workers at the Hoang Lan textile company joined a strike on September 16 to protest the company's late payments and exploitation. According to the workers' written protest, they were forced to work 9 to 12 hours a day while paid only the fixed daily wage. In addition, the workers do not get paid on time. At the time of their strike, the workers had not received their payment for August. The company also deducted 10,000 piasters (equivalent to US $1 and 1/30 of the payment) for medical care and social security while in fact Hoang Lan company did not purchase any of those insurance.
Hanoi's tighten controls
HANOI (Reuter) Oct. 13, 1996 -- The authorities in Vietnam's capital said they were planning to tighten civil controls, including measures to manage demonstrations and closer monitoring of dissidents and foreigners.
The announcement in the official Hanoi Moi newspaper said new circumstances and Hanoi's special role as the country's capital demanded a readjustment of security measures.
An official at the Hanoi Party Committee office told Reuters that the authorities were concerned that "ringleaders" were seeking to stir up trouble at demonstrations -- rare, but increasing events in Vietnam.
The recent trials of leading dissidents Hoang Minh Chinh and Le Hong Ha indicated a threat from political opportunists, he said.
Le Hong Ha, a former ranking Interior Ministry official, was jailed in August for two years on charges of divulging state secrets.
He had been expelled from the ruling Communist Party after voicing support for Mr. Hoang Minh Chinh, a veteran party critic who was released from prison in June.
The official, who declined to be identified, said that the authorities were also seeking to tighten police monitoring of foreigners in the capital and of Vietnamese nationals travelling abroad.