President Joe Biden’s state visit to Hanoi on September 10-11 received great attention and appreciation from the international media.
French news agency AFP, in a commentary titled, “Receiving the US President alone, Nguyen Phu Trong affirms the absolute leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam?” and said, “The US President traveled to Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary of the Party, President of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong only appeared as the host of a reception for the US head of state on the evening of September 10, 2023.”
These things show that General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, simultaneously plays two roles, general director as well as main actor in the most important event in the Vietnam-US relationship, which is passionately warm as ever.
The important visit of the US President to Hanoi only lasted about 24 hours, but certainly, everything was within the detailed calculations of the Vietnamese leadership, and no errors were allowed even if it’s just one drink.
Yet, when President Joe Biden has not yet left Vietnam or ended his visit, observers have seen abnormalities among the forces within the Party. They intentionally created three “tricks” to taint this important event.
First, one day before President JoeBiden arrived in Hanoi, September 9, The New York Times revealed information that a document from the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam released in March 2023, with content, Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense has quietly and secretly purchased defense weapons from Russia, with a budget of about $8 billion over a period of 20 years, to modernize the military.
The New York Times made an interesting comment, that is, “the top generals of the Vietnamese army are still deeply attached to Russia and they have a general attitude of not liking Americans.”
Second, US President Joe Biden is the most important national guest of Vietnam, yet, major newspapers such as Tuoi Tre, Phap Luat TP and a number of other newspapers have arbitrarily censored President Joe’s statements. Biden, when he mentioned human rights issues. The above-mentioned newspapers published the “full text of the speech” of the US President, after his meeting with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on September 10. But when compared with the version posted by the White House, there is specifically, Mr. Biden’s statement mentioned human rights issues, the original text on the White House website is:
“I have also raised the importance of respecting human rights as a top priority for both my administration and the American people. And we will continue to have a frank dialogue in this area.” The Vietnamese newspaper pages just mentioned have omitted the content, leaving only the brief statement: “I also emphasize the importance of respecting human rights.”
That may cause readers to misunderstand the content of the US President’s statement, when he said that he had “raised the issue of human rights with the Vietnamese leadership and that the two sides would continue to dialogue on human rights” but not just stated in general terms.
Third, during this US President’s visit to Vietnam, there was no image of people in the capital standing in long lines to welcome the streets, with slogan signs and flags and flowers waving, as if welcoming four former US Presidents who had previously visited Hanoi.
On the social network Facebook shared information that police in wards in the center of Hanoi had spread out the planned areas where the US President’s motorcade would pass, urging people not to gather and welcome banners are not allowed. Social activists in Hanoi were warned by the police and asked to stay indoors.
A document from the People’s Committee of Vinh Phuc ward, Ba Dinh district, was even leaked, informing and reminding residents in the area not to gather to welcome people, not even to open window doors overlooking the convoy. Shops, places of business… along the roads where the US President’s motorcade passed, were ordered to close and stop selling to focus on “environmental hygiene.”
Importantly, this official dispatch emphasized: “When the US President’s delegation passes by, absolutely do not go out curiously to watch. The doors of all floors must be closed (this is to ensure safety, because if US security finds anything suspicious or at risk of unsafety, they can shoot it down).”
The purpose of this document is said to be that some leaders who are members of the Politburo do not want a scene of a loud welcome from the people, which would make Beijing unhappy.
The things listed are to see the mentality of Vietnam’s leading officials. Because of fear of China, they are ready to disrupt the cause, to discredit and dishonor the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the General Secretary. Nguyen Phu Trong, what can we say about the national honor of the Vietnamese people./.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
