This post is also available in: Vietnamese
“Your pens are offensive weapons to defend the just against the unjust” – President Ho Chi Minh.
Vietnamese TV in action at the Hue Festival. (Photo: Antony Stokes)
I pay tribute to many fine media professionals in Vietnam, both in journalism and in government.
We are proud to support them, working together in a modest way on professionalism, ethical conduct, and tackling obstruction.
So although I was pleased when a Vietnamese newspaper invited me to write an article for the occasion of Journalism in Vietnam Day, I was disappointed to be encouraged to remove my references to some of the difficulties and challenges.
There would be no shame in discussing these, and I am confident that the Vietnamese people can be trusted to understand the issues, and draw their own conclusions.
The British media is no paragon, and has plenty of difficulties of its own. My Prime Minister David Cameron gave evidence last week to the independent inquiry looking onto allegations of phone hacking. The inquiry is likely to look at how the British media can be better regulated.
In a similar vein, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s call for the Ministry of Information and Communications to strengthen the Vietnamese media might be an opportunity to explore more independent management of Vietnam’s media, as I suggested previously.
That might also help to protect journalists who are joining the Government’s fight against corruption, who “write stories that give us clear-headed insights into government policies, and who bring the lives of the voiceless into the spotlight”.
Vietnamese news. (Photo: Antony Stokes)
Dear Antony,personally I do think that I ‘ve started to write regularly comments, esp. to the British Embassy in Hanoi several months ago.Though I don ‘t know whether it ‘s allowed or usefully to send you in re. of this report a”tipp”,I ‘ll try: Well you ‘re are the last person who should feel “disappointing” or sad for the fact of removing .The result would just be:Next time if another Vietnamese newspaper is asking you to write a story you just would feel insecure.US-Americans used to call this”right from the start”-Germans “Frisch vom Fleg weg”.I know that you understand a little bit of German cause of your friendship with former Mr. Claus Wunderlich.I surely don ‘t know about Mr.David Cameroons problems with the British Media/Press.But cause of a lot of London years I know a British saying:”Fleet Street is selling every bad news.The much worser, the better.For the worsest is selling the most.It ‘s not about truth-but it ‘s all about making money”.But the topic is “Vietnam…”I do really think that you should be proud of the metioned things:”Support”,”Co-Operation”,”Ethical Conduct”, “Tackling Obstruction”.I think that all these topics, everyone as a single unit,are maybe more as others in your position are able to do.Pls. let me conclude this comment by giving Mr.Ho Chi Minh a reply for his 1st. mentioned saying, if only in spirit:I do full agree to you , Sir,that pens are the weapons to defend….but they can only defend people who are living in a totally press-/media-fredoom area.BW, Ingo-Steven Wais, Stuttgart
Dear Antony, I ‘m very sorry:Of course my last word which I ‘ve wrote are written correctly”…completely press/media-freedom”.
BW, Ingo-Steven