VN news (July 18)

[Dam Son <son@fermi.phys.washington.edu>]

Vietnam Reports Progress in Sea Talks with China 
Vietnamese Party chief returns from China 
Vietnam Poll Preparations Marred by Deputy's Death 
Vietnamese Leader Winds up China Visit 
Arrests for drug trafficking sharply up in Vietnam 
Man sentenced to death in Vietnam for decapitating family of
Eight condemned drug dealers seek death row reprieve 
Fresh faces for Vietnam's new legislature 
Hanoi, July 17 (VNA) - Highlights of Vietnam's daily newspapers today:
Vietnam faces tough job distancing itself from the Cambodian

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Vietnam Reports Progress in Sea Talks with China 

HANOI, July 18 (Reuter) - Vietnam on Friday reported progress in negotiations
with China aimed at resolving a territorial dispute in the Tonkin Gulf.

A foreign ministry statement, issued following three days of talks in
Hanoi between the two countries, said the meeting took place in an atmosphere
of "genuine goodwill."

It gave no details, but said enough progress had been made during the
latest talks to make practical steps towards finding a solution.

Vietnam and China have longstanding differences over their land and sea
borders.

Their armies clashed in a bloody 1979 border war while a fierce naval
exchange took place in 1988 in the Spratlys, a potentially mineral-rich
island chain in the South China Sea.

Regular negotiations have taken place since 1993 to bridge the gaps,
but progress has been minimal.

The latest talks follow a visit this week by Communist Party chief Do
Muoi and other senior officials to China.

The visit came in the wake on an incident earlier this year in which
China briefly moved its Kan Tan 111 oil exploration rig into waters contested
by Vietnam.

The issue was not raised during the talks, the foreign

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Vietnamese Party chief returns from China 

HANOI, July 18 (AFP) - Communist Party General Secretary Do Muoi arrived
back in Hanoi Friday from a four-day official visit to China, an airport
police official said.

Muoi flew in from Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan,
which borders Vietnam, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said.

The Yunnan leg of the visit followed a two-day stay in Beijing, where
Muoi met President Jiang Zemin, who is also Communist Party General Secretary,
and Premier Li Peng.

Observers said the recent crisis in Cambodia was likely to have figured
prominently in discussions between the two party leaders, but the official
Chinese press carried no mention of this.

It was Muoi's third official visit to China since 1991.

Both sides stressed their similiarities and pledged to resolve their
differences and boost economic ties.

Muoi visited Yunnan to promote border trade. Earlier this year Vietnam
and China agreed to open a passenger railway link from Hanoi to Kunming.

Vietnam and China have longstanding disputes over competing claims in
the Tonkin Gulf, the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands in the South
China Sea, as well as one land border dispute.

Muoi did not make any official statement upon arriving back in Vietnam
which is holding elections for the National Assembly on Sunday.

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Vietnam Poll Preparations Marred by Deputy's Death 

By Adrian Edwards

HANOI, Vietnam (Reuter) - Vietnam Friday geared up for National Assembly
elections with billboards and posters raised across the country, but
preparations were marred by news that a senior assembly member had died.

Sunday's polls will decide the make-up of a new and enlarged 450-seat
legislature, which will meet twice a year to oversee legislation and
vote on the appointment of top state and cabinet officials.

Some 663 candidates are taking part, including 112 from outside Vietnam's
sole legal political party, the Communist Party of Vietnam. Eleven are
self-nominated candidates. All have been directly or indirectly approved
by the state.

One of the new assembly's first tasks, when it meets Sept. 20, will be
to appoint a new president and prime minister. The current incumbents,
Le Duc Anh, 76, and Vo Van Kiet, 74, are not standing for re-election.

The preparations were marred by the death of the National Assembly's
deputy chairman, Phung Van Tuu. The death of the 74-year-old lawyer,
who had been ill for some time, was announced on front pages of state
dailies.

But preparations continued apace with blood-red banners strung across
city streets and national flags hoisted outside offices and private houses.

Magazines carried photos of a smiling young woman in silk dress and a
policeman both holding ballot papers aloft and proclaiming their constitutional
right and intention to vote for a new parliament.

While the official fanfare was building, there was little to indicate
public enthusiasm for an election which critics say will do little or
nothing to place increased democracy in the hands of Vietnam's 40 million
eligible voters.

And old practices appeared to be dying hard. Earlier this week a state
daily reported that voters in one central Hanoi district had complained
after being given detailed instructions about who to choose.

National Assembly official Nguyen Si Dung insisted at a news conference
Thursday that such activities were strictly illegal and the incident
was isolated.

But a resident of another Hanoi district told Reuters Friday her neighborhood
had also been told which candidates they should turn down.

Analysts say that despite its limitations, the election and subsequent
appointment of a new assembly could serve to breathe new life into Vietnam's
decade-old reform process after a lengthy period of political drift.

Dung appealed to skeptics to understand that within the context of Vietnam's
political development the election was significant.

"We are combing economic reforms with political ones," he said, adding
it was a process that would take time.

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Vietnamese Leader Winds up China Visit 

KUNMING (July 18) XINHUA - Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) General Secretary
Do Muoi ended a five-day visit to China today in the capital city of
Yunnan province, which borders Vietnam.

In Yunnan, he visited local enterprises, teacher's residential areas
in Kunming, the picturesque Stone Forest, a national minority village,
and a farming village on Yangzonghai Lake, where he saw how 268 households
have got rich under China's reform and opening up policy.

During his visit to the Chinese province, Do Muoi visited the local tourism
and tobacco industries and got some idea of the province's development
in agriculture and township enterprises.

The Vietnamese leader said that China's reform and opening-up have scored
many achievements. He noted that there have been big changes in urban
and rural areas and in infrastructure development.

He expressed his belief that under the leadership of CPC, there will
be even greater development in the future.

He said that Vietnam and Yunnan are complementary in certain ways while
voicing the hope that the two sides can enhance economic and trade cooperation
as well as such cooperation in science and technology, and transport.

Accompanying Do Muoi were Phan Van Khai, a member of the Political Bureau
of the VCP Central Committee and deputy prime minister; Nguyen Manh Cam,
a member of the Political Bureau of the VCP Central Committee and foreign
minister; and Hong Ha, assistant to the general secretary of the VCP
Central Committee.

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Arrests for drug trafficking sharply up in Vietnam 

HANOI, July 18 (AFP) - Arrests for drug trafficking in Vietnam were sharply
up in the first half of 1997, amid a government drive to curb the problem,
press reports said Friday.

A total of 4,154 people were arrested for drug trafficking from January
to June, a figure nearly 25 percent up on the first half of last year,
the Communist Party daily Nhan Dan said. Nearly 2,500 cases are to go
to court.

Nearly 2,400 individual cases were uncovered during the first half of
the year, up 24 percent, said the daily, quoting a police report.

Since January, more than a thousand drug traffickers have been tried
by Vietnamese courts.

Drug trafficking is widespread in the provinces bordering Laos and China
where the methods employed are becoming "sophisticated and perfidious",
Nhan Dan said.

Vietnam, whose borders are very porous, has become a transit country
for drugs destined for European and American markets, coming largely
from the so-called 'Golden Triangle' of Thailand, Burma and Laos.

Thirty-six people, including seven foreigners, have been sentenced to
death for drug trafficking in Vietnam since 1993. Anti-drug legislation
was strengthened at the end of last year and the courts have been issuing
tough guidelines on sentencing.

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Man sentenced to death in Vietnam for decapitating family of
four 

HANOI, July 18 (AFP) - A Vietnamese man has been sentenced to death for
decapitating a family of four after a long drinking session, a report
said Friday.

Dang Van Dua, 61, was sentenced Thursday by the People's Court of Ben
Tre province after he was found guilty of beheading Huynh Kim Yen, along
with her husband and their two children, the Saigon Giai Phong daily
said.

Dua beheaded the four with a knife after a failed attempt to rape the
wife during a drinking session at the family's home.

The husband was drunk when he was killed and their two children, an 11-year-old
girl and two-year-old boy, were sleeping.

More than 100 people were sentenced to death in Vietnam last year.

Executions are carried out by a firing squad. Five bullets are fired
into the body, followed by a finishing shot to the head.

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Eight condemned drug dealers seek death row reprieve 

HANOI, July 18 (AFP) - Eight people condemned for drug trafficking in
Vietnam's biggest ever smuggling case have applied for a reprieve from
death row in Hanoi, a report said on Friday.

Drug kingpin Vu Xuan Truong, a former police captain and seven others
convicted for trafficking more than 414 kilogrammes (910 pounds) of heroin
failed in their appeal earlier this month.

The Thanh Nien newspaper reported that all eight had sent an appeal to
President Le Duc Anh asking that he commute their death sentences.

Clemency is Vietnam is extremely rare, and the defendents are unlikely
to succeed, observers say. Last year 113 were executed, according to
unofficial figures.

Meanwhile the newspaper reported that four more people charged with involvement
in the drug network would go on trial in Hanoi from July 24 to 26, and
another 20 people were expected to be tried later this year.

The Hanoi People's Court was unable to confirm this date.

To date 22 people have been tried and convicted in what has been Vietnam's
biggest ever drug smuggling case and more than 40 have been arrested.

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Fresh faces for Vietnam's new legislature 

By Frederik Balfour

HANOI, July 18 (AFP) - Vietnam's new National Assembly will be full of
fresh faces as less than one-third of the candidates in Sunday's voting
are seeking re-election.

When voters go to the polls nationwide, they will choose 450 national
assembly deputies out of 663 candidates from a younger, better educated
field with more women.

The percentage of women in the national legislature is expected to increase
to about 25 percent from the current 18 percent -- already higher than
in many true democracies.

But Sunday's voting will provide few surprises. To stand for election,
candidates had to survive a thorough vetting process by the Vietnam Fatherland
Front, the mass organisation arm of the ruling Communist Party.

About 92 percent of the national assembly deputies belong to the Communist
Party but this is expected to fall to 80 percent in the next five-year
term of the legislative body.

The country's three most powerful party members -- General Secretary
Do Muoi, 80, President Le Duc Anh, 77, and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet,
75 -- are among those who will not be seeking another term.

The National Assembly technically votes on Anh and Kiet's sucessors when
it opens in September. But in reality it is the party that will decide
in advance which names to submit for approval by the legislature.

And the power brokers within the party are still divided on who will
succeed. Their challenge is to find a slate of leaders who can replicate
the delicate balance between ideologies and regions provided by the current
troika, observers say.

Carl Thayer, a Vietnam specialist at the Politics School at the Australian
Defense Force Academy, says not to expect any surprises.

"Vietnam isn't going to change its political stripes and its policies,"
he said.

All but 11 of the 663 candidates were nominated by groups under the Fatherland
Front umbrella, including the Women's Union, Trade Unions and the Buddhist
Church.

In the previous 1992 election, the two self-nominated or independent
candidates failed to win seats.

But with just two days before voting, there were no signs of the feverish
last-minute campaigning.

Public loudspeakers have for weeks been blaring biographical details
on candidates while media coverage is devoted to government ministers
and senior communist officials touting the party line.

"I haven't really paid attention," said one Vietnamese business consultant
in Hanoi. "What's the point? I will just look at their resumes before
I vote."

There are, however, one or two refreshing exceptions. Tran Thanh Trai,
chief surgeon at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital, has displayed political
savy on the stump.

Taking advantage of a new law allowing candidates to promote their views
in the media, Trai has not shied from sensitive issues, calling for a
complete overhaul of Vietnam's healthcare system.

"If I am elected I will raise my voice to bring real interests to the
public health industry," he said, hoping to establish equality in medical
treatment in hospitals.

Observers say the new national assembly deputies may show more backbone
than their predecessors.

"The national assembly is becoming more aggressive. Now all the ministers
have to justify their position," said one voter.

But Nguyen Quang Vinh, a Hanoi engineer, is less sanguine. "Vote or not
is the same for me. It won't make any difference," he said.

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Hanoi, July 17 (VNA) - Highlights of Vietnam's daily newspapers today:

NHAN DAN:

- Party General Secretary Do Muoi yesterday morning left Beijing for
Yunnan, the Chinese province bordering with three provinces of Lai Chau,
Lao Cai and Ha Giang of Vietnam, in an effort to give a fillip to cross-border
trade. Two-way border trade last year with Vietnam was valued at about
US$66 million.

VIETNAM NEWS:

- The Vietnam National Assembly Standing Committee says preparations
for next Sunday's election are on schedule.

- A fire broke out last Tuesday night at the Binh Thanh Tailoring enterprise
in the Binh Thanh district of Ho Chi Minh City, leaving 450 workers without
jobs.

HANOI MOI:

- A forum to boost application of international-standard quality systems
throughout Vietnam has been held in Hanoi. The forum titled ISO9000 -
Your partner towards the 21st Century aimed to introduce ISO9000 quality
systems through training and consultation.

- By the end of June 1997, the Hanoi Knitting Company produced three
million pairs of stocks, earning VND 14.3 billion (US$1.2 million).

(VNA)

17-07 1550

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Vietnam faces tough job distancing itself from the Cambodian
crisis 

By Serguei Blagov

Hanoi (dpa) - Vietnam is anxious to avoid a semblance of involvement
in the current Cambodian struggles but Hanoi's muted support for Hun
Sen fuels rather than helps dismiss speculation, say analysts.

Vietnam really needs to do something now in order not to be viewed by
the outside world as, once again, being involved in Cambodia, said a
Hanoi-based diplomat.

Obviously this is a tricky task bearing in mind that Cambodia's strongman
Hun Sen returned from Vietnam on July 4 and the very next morning ousted
his co-premier from power, the diplomat said.

Vietnamese officials insist that Hun Sen's controversial visit to Vietnam
in early July was a vacation which just happened to coincide with the
subsequent crisis in Cambodia. Hun Sen was also rumoured to have been
merely visiting his Vietnamese girlfriend in the seaside resort of Vung
Tau, 120 kilometers east of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam's foreign ministry confirmed that Hun Sen took a brief rest in
Vietnam earlier this month but insisted that the Cambodian strongman
did not have contact with any of the Vietnamese leaders.

It is very difficult to believe that Hun Sen failed to warn his Vietnamese
hosts about his intentions, said one veteran observer. Hun Sen, who was
appointed Foreign Minister in 1979 and Prime Minister in 1985, made an
excellent career within the government installed by Vietnam in Cambodia.
It is unlikely that the issue was not discussed during Hun Sen's stay
in Vietnam, the observer said.

Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesman referred to "blatant slander"
in a statement last week responding to allegations by Khmer Rouge clandestine
radio which claimed Hun Sen visited Vietnam in early July to prepare
the coup d'etat.

Hun Sen, leader of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), has been labelled
by his political opponents as " Vietnam's pawn". In the early 1990s
Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge defector, led the Vietnam-supported government,
dominated by the CPP.

Vietnam officially urges the Cambodian warring parties to exercise restraint
and settle their differences peacefully, but describes the violence as
the country's internal affair.

Vietnam wanted to see stability in Cambodia, Vu Khoan was quoted as saying
by the Vietnamese press Monday. The statement is seen by the analysts
as another sign of muted support to Hun Sen's claims to restore law and
order in Cambodia.

Vietnamese officials privately are willing to discuss different scenarios
for Cambodia, including the return of Ranarridh to Phnom Penh as first
Prime Minister, said a European diplomat. However, it is clear that they
would prefer Hun Sen to remain in power, he said.

Cambodia's ousted first Prime Minister Norodom Ranarridh in recent years
was repeatedly lashing out at Vietnam and therefore won few friends in
Hanoi. In early 1996 Prince Ranarridh claimed Vietnam "invaded" the
eastern provinces of Svay Rieng, Prey Veng and Kampong Cham, and said
Vietnamese settlers, backed by troops, had encroached on Cambodian territory.

The unexpected visit to China of Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary
Do Muoi July 14-18 also fuelled speculation that the Cambodian issue
was on the agenda.

Following the 1978 Vietnamese takeover of Cambodia - where Hanoi's troops
ousted the Beijing-supported Khmer Rouge - China launched a limited invasion
of Vietnam's northern border in February 1979 to 'teach a lesson' to
Hanoi.

Apart from the border war with China, Hanoi's takeover of Cambodia turned
Vietnam into virtually pariah state, isolated it internationally and
virtually deprived it of Western lending and aid.

Vietnam now is balancing on a very tight rope, said a diplomat in Hanoi.
The alleged involvement in Cambodia's affairs could be a very dangerous
gamble for Hanoi, since Vietnam regional and international standings,
notably the current normalization with the U.S., could be affected, he
said.

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