Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DISSENT & THE NET
Dubbed the 'bamboo firewall', the entire nation's internet operates behind a state-controlled security
system that blocks anything - including Facebook - that might potentially lead to trouble. In Septem-
ber 2013 the Vietnamese government introduced new rules restricting all use of websites and online
social media to the exchange of 'personal information' only.
Political dissent is a complete no-no and arrests and trials are common. Bloggers are particularly
vulnerable, with 46 sentenced to prison for 'anti-state propaganda' in 2013, including Le Quoc Quan,
a democracy activist and prominent Catholic.
All newspapers and television channels are state-run.
TOP OF CHAPTER
History
Vietnam has a history as rich and evocative as anywhere on earth. Sure, the war with the
USA captured the attention of the West, but centuries before that the Vietnamese were
scrapping with the Chinese, the Khmers, the Chams and the Mongols. Vietnamese civil-
isation is as sophisticated as that of its mighty northern neighbour, China, from which it
drew many of its influences under a 1000-year occupation. Later came the French and the
humbling period of colonialism from which Vietnam was not to emerge until the second
half of the 20th century. The Americans were simply the last in a long line of invaders
who had come and gone throughout the centuries - no matter what was required or how
long it took, they too were vanquished. If only the military planners in Washington had
paid a little more attention to the history of this proud nation, the trauma and tragedy of a
long war might have been avoided.
Early Vietnam
The sophisticated Indianised kingdom of Funan flourished from the 1st to 6th centuries
AD in the Mekong Delta area. Archaeological evidence reveals that Funan's busy trading
port of Oc-Eo had contact with China, India, Persia and even the Mediterranean. Between
the mid-6th century and the 9th century, the Funan empire was absorbed by the pre-
Angkorian kingdom of Chenla.
Meanwhile, around present-day Danang, the Hindu kingdom of Champa emerged in the
late 2nd century AD. Like Funan, it adopted Sanskrit as a sacred language and borrowed
 
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