Law and judiciary
Former Vietnamese Government Minister Draws Life Term in Corruption Case
A former Vietnamese government minister and his deputy were sentenced on Saturday to a life term and 14 years in prison respectively in a case of corruption that is said to have cost the state budget almost U.S. $3 million, media sources said. Son Bac Nguyen, ...
Vietnam focuses on cybersecurity to protect national interests
Rapid technological development has given people more ways to access and share information on the internet. It has also created conditions for more sophisticated cyber-attacks. Like other countries, Vietnam has a cybersecurity law to safeguard information and protect national security. According to a recent press release, the country ...
Samaya Dharmaraj
Reintegration shelter for human trafficking victims in Lao Cai
Nguyen Thi Van (not her real name) from the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai was lured across the border to China and sold off as a wife when she was 16 years old. Three months later, she escaped from her husband and returned to Vietnam, but it ...
TBA to announce guidelines on protection of clients' data
The Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) will issue practice guidelines for commercial banks in handling clients’ personal data, following the enforcement of the personal data protection law in May next year. The Personal Data Protection Act, B.E. 2562 (2019) regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of personal ...
89th joint patrol on Mekong River concludes
The 89th international joint patrol on the Mekong River concluded on December 27, with China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand taking part. According to the Yunnan provincial public security department, 128 law enforcement officers participated in the mission aboard six vessels, covering 542km. A consultation meeting on ...
Vietnam’s Internet Control: Following in China’s Footsteps?
On January 1 of this year, a new cybersecurity law entered into effect in Vietnam after its passage in the Vietnamese National Assembly in June 2018. The law (original; unofficial translation) had a number of concerning elements, which included granting the government relatively unchecked authorities to ...
Justin Sherman
Mekong nations tighten anti-drug blitz
The Mekong region is no longer a mysterious place, as it has now become the world’s main hub of illicit drugs across multiple frontiers. Last month, anti-drug officials from riparian countries — Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, China — and the United Nations Office on ...
Kavi Chongkittavorn
Sub-decree to transfer health services ‘closer to the people’
The National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD) has approved a draft sub-decree to improve the provision of health services in a quality, safe, effective and equitable manner. Consisting of eight chapters and 27 articles, the sub-decree outlines the delegating of authority in health service provision ...
Mech Dara
Requiem for victims of traffic accidents in Vietnam
The National Traffic Safety Committee and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on November 11 held an annual requiem for the victims who lost their life to traffic accidents in Vietnam this year. The event aims to raise an alarm in the whole society on traffic accidents ...
Chinese and Mekong cops team up against one of Asia's biggest meth cartels
Chinese drug police are working with Mekong countries to strike at the heart of a mega-rich meth syndicate as the region targets top-level drug traffickers instead of street dealers. The porous and lawless border areas of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos have for decades been a hub ...