February 6, 2007
Viet Nam’s Leaders Disucss Change
Now that Viet Nam has officially been admitted to the World Trade Organization, how will this change the country, if at all? As BBC News reports, this question was the heart of recent meetings of Viet Nam’s central government:
Vietnam’s Communist Party is now facing up to the political consequences of its decision to integrate the country with global capitalism. Vietnam formally joined the World Trade Organization this month, and now it has to change many of its laws and practices to comply with WTO rules. In many areas the old ways of doing business and politics no longer work.
The economy is more complex, growth is creating winners and losers, and the country needs more sophisticated policies to address the problems. In response, the party is trying to give more power to the formal structures of the government and the National Assembly. In the past these bodies were mainly rubber stamps for decisions taken by the party, but they are starting to assume greater control of the setting and implementation of policy.
These are tough questions indeed. How will Viet Nam manage opening up their country and economy while at the same time retaining their tight grip on power and control? However the process, as I’ve said in the past, I think it is a positive step to continue integrating Viet Nam into the international community, rather than trying to isolate them as many rabid anti-communist Vietnamese Americans have vehemently argued for.
Viet Nam’s government is not going to be overthrown by a revolution anytime soon. But given enough time and capitalist pressures, its society is likely to become more open, slowly but surely.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Viet Nam’s Anti-Corruption Chief Arrested
- Religious Freedom in Viet Nam
- Viet Nam Set to Enter the WTO
- U.S. and China Compete to Befriend Viet Nam
- The Viet Kieu in Viet Nam
- Viet Nam Trying to Go High-Tech
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Suggested reference: Le, C.N. . "Viet Nam’s Leaders Disucss Change" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. <http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2007/02/viet-nams-leaders-disucss-change/> ().
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