As I write this story, it is the 38th day of Dieu Cay's hunger strike. Word that Vietnam's most famous blogger has been refusing food since June 20 has seeped out from the prison where he is confined on a trumped-up charge of propagandizing against the State. The 61-year-old dissident is protesting harsher treatment meted out to prisoners who refuse to confess their "crimes."
I have never met Dieu Cay. When he was first jailed in 2008, I was still a reporter who had grown up during Vietnam's boom years, and hardly paid attention to politics. Dieu Cay is old enough to remember the American War and the hard days that followed it.
Dieu Cay's blogging opened a window for me. It met readers' demands for free access to true information, which is not the information provided and distorted by Vietnam's state-owned press in the interest of the regime and the ruling Communist Party.
(...)
Dieu Cay emerged as the most popular of these political bloggers. He posted stories and photos that told about people's lives. With a laptop and a camera, he travelled about, talking with disadvantaged people. He interviewed farmers who'd lost their land, young women who sewed garments for export in sweatshops, construction workers who lived somehow on less than 20 US cents per day. Investigating a spectacular worksite disaster, Dieu Cay uncovered evidence of corruption that may have led to the death of more than 50 workers.
He posted to his blog a heavily satirical account of his attempt to secure the eviction of a Communist Party member who had appropriated one of his own flats. Dieu Cay's complaint was turned down. For his pains, a fine was levied for "inciting social disorder" and his writing about social justice and the corruption of the courts took a darker turn. Full story...
Related posts:
I have never met Dieu Cay. When he was first jailed in 2008, I was still a reporter who had grown up during Vietnam's boom years, and hardly paid attention to politics. Dieu Cay is old enough to remember the American War and the hard days that followed it.
Dieu Cay's blogging opened a window for me. It met readers' demands for free access to true information, which is not the information provided and distorted by Vietnam's state-owned press in the interest of the regime and the ruling Communist Party.
(...)
Dieu Cay emerged as the most popular of these political bloggers. He posted stories and photos that told about people's lives. With a laptop and a camera, he travelled about, talking with disadvantaged people. He interviewed farmers who'd lost their land, young women who sewed garments for export in sweatshops, construction workers who lived somehow on less than 20 US cents per day. Investigating a spectacular worksite disaster, Dieu Cay uncovered evidence of corruption that may have led to the death of more than 50 workers.
He posted to his blog a heavily satirical account of his attempt to secure the eviction of a Communist Party member who had appropriated one of his own flats. Dieu Cay's complaint was turned down. For his pains, a fine was levied for "inciting social disorder" and his writing about social justice and the corruption of the courts took a darker turn. Full story...
Related posts:
- Vietnam to ban sharing of news stories on social media...
- Vietnam arrests third blogger in less than a month in intensifying crackdown
- Vietnamese anti-corruption bloggers jailed...
- Vietnamese dissident bloggers unfazed by 20-year jail threats by the State...
- Vietnam jails dissident blogger Pham Minh Hoang...
- Vietnam activist Cu Huy Ha Vu jailed for seven years...
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