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Vietnam's prime minister hosted the country's highest-level online chat Friday, answering questions about everything from corruption to his personal life - a clear break from old-style communism in the rapidly changing country.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung answered questions preselected from more than 20,000 sent from across Vietnam and abroad. He also fielded a few live questions during the 2 hour chat, and did not shy away from thorny issues, including the lack of press freedom, the Vietnam War and government seizure of farmers' land for development. ``Why did you sign a decree strictly banning privatization of the press in any form?'' asked someone with the screen name Pham Duong Quoc Tuan. ``Doesn't it go against the goal of freedom and democracy that you are striving for?'' Dung defended the recent decision to keep all of the country's 600 media outlets under state control, prohibiting a free press. ``The decree was in line with Vietnamese law and in accordance with the aspirations of most of the people,'' he answered. Dung, 57, is the country's youngest prime minister and is known as a reformer. Appointed last June, he had long been groomed for the job and has a record of fostering economic growth. At age 12, Dung was a messenger for Viet Cong guerrillas fighting U.S.-backed South Vietnam. He later battled American troops during the war, which ended in 1975 when the communist north reunified the country. ``You used to fight against the U.S. and had vindictive hatred for the U.S. What did you think when you sent your son to study in the U.S.?'' asked someone with the screen name Jeremy Taylor. Dung acknowledged his hatred for the United States during the war, adding ``but we do not hate the American people.'' ``My son is working for the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture, and he was sent to the U.S. to study by Vietnam's Ministry of Education. ... The party and the government now want to leave the war behind to build up a good relationship with the U.S.,'' he said. Many people saw the online dialogue as a good way to address their problems, while feeling more connected to the country's head of government. Past leaders have taken a more formal approach, typically reading speeches at events and avoiding questions from the international media. But Dung often speaks without notes and has vowed to be more in touch with the public. ``I don't know whether the issues we raised to our leaders will be addressed or not,'' Hanoi taxi driver Nguyen Trung Van said while sipping tea on the street. ``But this is a good start, because we need a channel to communicate with our leaders.'' Despite the frank online discussion, Internet use is still tightly controlled in Vietnam. Cyber dissidents have been jailed after posting pro-democracy messages online, and Vietnam requires identification at Internet cafes, where users are monitored and some sites are blocked. Many rules, however, are largely ignored as Web use booms in a country where two-thirds of its 84 million people are under 30. During the chat, Dung also addressed the sticky topic of the government's decision to take land for development, often poorly compensating farmers who have no other skills. The widespread land seizures have sparked numerous protests by farmers left with nowhere to go. ``What are your options to help people whose land was taken for infrastructure and development projects to keep them from being driven to poverty?'' asked someone with the screen name Tran Van Toan from Ho Chi Minh City. Dung said the land was necessary to help move the country forward, but that the government was working on policies to ``ensure that people will have a better life after the land was taken.'' He said fighting widespread government corruption remains a priority. High-ranking officials have been punished in recent years for syphoning millions of dollars from state projects to fund high-flying lifestyles that include luxury cars, villas and overseas gambling. Online chats could become a regular event as they have with other Cabinet members at various ministries, said Dao Duy Quat, deputy director of the Communist Party Commission for Ideology and Culture.
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