Vietnam police arrest admin of popular YouTube channel
HANOI: Vietnamese police said Wednesday they had arrested administrators of a YouTube channel with two million subscribers for allegedly spreading false information about state officials.
Rights campaigners say the government in one-party Vietnam has in recent years stepped up a crackdown on civil society and weaponised the law to silence critics, especially people posting on social media.
Human Rights Watch said in April that members of the public were being targeted through an expansion of the scope of article 331 of the penal code, which centres on the 'infringement of state interests'.
On Wednesday police in Ho Chi Minh City said they arrested Le Van Can, the lead administrator of Nguoi Dua Tin (The Messenger) YouTube channel, for 'abusing democratic freedoms' under article 331.
His two assistants were also taken into custody, accused of the same crime.
Since March last year, the channel had published more than 6,700 video clips 'with negative and distorted information targeting individuals and organisations in the political system, as well as policies and guidelines of the party and the state', police said in an online statement.
It was not clear whether the three men had created the videos, which police say had been collectively viewed a billion times.
Their behaviour 'badly impacted public opinions and caused social disorder', police said, adding the accused had illegally earned more than $380,000 (10 billion dong) for running the channel, which was deactivated prior to the arrests.
According to HRW, between 2018 and February 2025, Vietnamese courts convicted and sentenced at least 124 people to harsh prison terms under article 331.
In the six years to 2017, only 28 were sentenced under equivalent laws, the group said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
Estonian, Vietnam agree on digital cooperation projects
Tallinn, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal met with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Minh Chinh, in Tallinn on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation and global security issues, according to an official government press release. The two leaders talked about opportunities for collaboration in the digital and economic sectors, with a particular emphasis on e-government and cybersecurity development. As part of the visit, the foreign ministers of both countries signed two memoranda of understanding focused on digital cooperation. Under the agreements, Estonia will support Vietnam in advancing its e-government and cybersecurity projects. The Vietnamese leader arrived in Estonia on Wednesday. His visit marks the first official trip to Estonia by a Vietnamese head of government.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Vietnam trade surplus with US surges, clouding tariff talks
HANOI: Vietnam's trade surplus with the US expanded sharply in May as exports swelled and its imports from China also jumped, exacerbating sore points with Washington that could hurt Hanoi's efforts to avoid crippling tariffs. Separate trade data from the US also showed Vietnam's surplus overtook Mexico's in April, lagging only China and the European Union. US President Donald Trump has vowed to bring down the US trade deficit and the Southeast Asian country faces one of his highest 'reciprocal' tariffs at 46% if a deal cannot be negotiated before a pause on the levies ends in early July. Despite Hanoi's efforts and pledges to meet Washington's demands, the surplus keeps growing, particularly as exporters rush to get their goods to the US before the tariffs go into effect. The new figures 'may put some clouds in the sky of these negotiations and put pressure on Vietnam to make additional concessions to reach an agreement,' said Leif Schneider, vice-chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam's legal sector committee. The surplus with the US surged to US$12.2 billion (RM52 billion) in May, up nearly 42% from a year earlier and 17% higher than April, Vietnamese government data showed yesterday. Exports to the US also climbed roughly 42% from a year earlier to a post-pandemic high of US$13.8 billion. That stands in contrast to signs that other countries are reining in their exports to the US with the US trade deficit narrowing sharply in April. Schneider noted that while Vietnam's spike in exports was largely due to front-loading ahead of possible tariffs, and represents a short-term inflation of the surplus, Vietnam is in a particularly hard spot because of its limited imports from the US. In the first five months of the year, the surplus hit nearly US$50 billion, up 28.5% and putting Vietnam on track to exceed last year's record surplus. The country's imports from China also posted a post-pandemic record of US$16.2 billion in May, up 21% from a year earlier. Vietnam is home to large manufacturing operations of US multinationals such as Apple, Intel and Nike , and it also hosts numerous Chinese companies, often suppliers to US firms. US officials have repeatedly accused Vietnam of being used as a waypoint for Chinese goods destined for the US. They allege that some goods have 'Made in Vietnam' labels despite having received no or insufficient added value in the country – allowing Chinese exporters to avoid high US duties on their goods. The US has sent a 'long' list of 'tough' requests to Vietnam in its tariff negotiations including demands that could force the country to cut its reliance on Chinese industrial goods imports, two people briefed about the matter have said. Under US pressure, Hanoi has launched a crackdown on illegal transshipments of goods, mostly from China. It has also repeatedly shown its willingness to reduce non-tariff barriers and to import more US goods including US planes, farm products and energy, although no purchase contracts have been announced yet. Vietnam's overall trade figures with the world showed exports in May rose 17% from a year earlier to US$39.6 billion, while imports were up 14% at US$39 billion. Separate government data also out yesterday showed industrial production in May shot up 9.4% from a year earlier, while consumer prices rose 3.24% and retail sales were up 10.2%. Foreign investment inflows for January-May climbed 7.9% to US$8.9 billion. Foreign investment pledges over the period soared 51.2% to US$18.4 billion. – Reuters
New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
Vietnam exports up as US tariff threat lingers
HANOI: Vietnam's exports rose sharply last month, official figures showed Friday, as the communist country tries to negotiate relief from swingeing tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump. May exports stood at US$39.6 billion, according to data from the General Statistics Office, up 17 per cent on the same period a year ago, while the year-to-date total reached US$180.2 billion, 14 per cent higher than in 2024. Vietnam, a major centre for global brands producing shoes and clothes, says it is making progress in talks with Washington to head off Trump's threatened 46 per cent levy. The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub has the third-biggest trade surplus with the United States after China and Mexico, putting it in the firing line for Trump's "Liberation Day" global tariff blitz. Vietnam's overall import-export turnover stood at US$78.6 billion in May, 15.5 per cent higher than the same month last year. Imports were up by 14.1 per cent year on year to stand at US$39 billion in May. Processed industrial goods dominated exports, while imports were led by production materials. Despite the tariff uncertainty, the United States remained Vietnam's number one export market with US$57 billion in the first five months of 2025 -- up from US$44 billion over the same period a year ago. Vietnamese and US trade negotiators meeting in Paris this week agreed to step up the pace of their talks. Vietnam has signed several agreements to buy hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of agricultural products and other raw materials from the United States as it seeks to rebalance their trading partnership. Trump's real estate group also broke ground last month on a US$1.5-billion luxury golf resort in Vietnam, while his son Eric Trump has been scouting locations for a potential tower project in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's southern business hub.
